wmum  (if  (iLiSBis  vmxt 


STATE  OF  ILLINOIS 

THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  PUBLIC  WELFARE 

General  Office,  Springfield 


CHARLES  H.  THORNE,  Director 

JAMES  E.  McCLURE,  Assistant  Director 

FRANK  D.  WHIPP,  Fiscal  Supervisor 

JOHN  L.  WHITMAN,  Superintendent  of  Prisons 

A.  L.  BOWEN,  Superintendent  of  Charities 

WILL  COLVIN,  Superintendent  of  Pardons  and  Paroles 

H.  DOUGLAS  SINGER,  M.  D,  M.  R.  C.  P.,  Alienist 

HERMAN  M.  ADLER,  M.  D.,  Criminologist 


Division  of  Visitation  of  Adult  Blind,  118  North  LaSalle  Street,  Chicago 
Charles  E.  Comstock,  Managing  Officer 

Division  of  Visitation  of  Children,  Springfield 
Charles  Virden,  State  Agent 

State  Psychopathic  Institute,  Kankakee 
H.  Douglas  Singer,  M.  D.,  M.  R.  C.  P.,  Alienist 

Juvenile  Psychopathic  Institute,  1812  West  Polk  Street,  Chicago 
Herman  M.  Adler,  M.  D.,  Criminologist 

Farm,  Garden  and  Dairy  Consultant 
Charles  T.  Hoblit,  Jacksonville 


ILLINOIS  STATE  INSTITUTIONS 

Elgin  State  Hospital,  Elgin,  Ralph  T.  Hinton,  M.  D.,  Managing  Officer;  Patients 
2198;  Employes  296.  Land  510  acres. 

Kankakee  State  Hospital,  Kankakee,  Eugene  Cohn,  M.  D.,  Managing  Officer ; 

Patients,  3216 ; Employes  469.  Land,  950  acres. 

Jacksonville  State  Hospital,  Jacksonville,  E.  L.  Hill,  M.  D.,  Managing  Officer; 

Patients  2072;  Employes  303.  Land,  357  acres. 

Anna  State  Hospital,  Anna,  Cyrus  H.  Anderson,  M.  D.,  Managing  Officer;  Pa- 
tfents  1712;  Employes  278.  Land,  570  acres. 

Watertown  State  Hospital,  Watertown,  M.  C.  Hawley,  M.  D.,  Managing  Officer; 

Patients  1534;  Employes  219.  Land,  593  acres. 

Peoria  State  Hospital,  Peoria,  Ralph  A.  Goodner,  M.  D.,  Managing  Officer; 

Patients  2156;  Employes  314.  Land,  694  acres. 

Chester  State  Hospital,  Menard,  Frank  A.  Stubblefield,  M.  D.,  Managing  Officer; 

Patients  126;  Employes  23.  Land,  17  acres 
Chicago  State  Hospital,  Dunning,  Charles  F.  Read,  M.  D.,  Managing  Officer; 

Patients  3217 ; Employes  428.  Land,  240  acres. 

Alton  State  Hospital,  Alton,  George  A.  Zeller,  M.  D.,  Managing  Officer;  Pa- 
tients 616 ; Employes  103.  Land,  1034  acres. 

Lincoln  State  School  and  Colony,  Lincoln,  Thomas  H.  Leonard,  M.  D.,  Managing 
Officer;  Patients  2144;  Employes  333.  Land  528  acres. 

Dixon  State  Colony,  Dixon,  H.  B.  Carriel,  M.  D.,  Managing  Officer;  Patients 
84 ; Employes  39.  Land,  1057  acres. 

The  Illinois  School  for  the  Deaf,  Jacksonville,  H.  T.  White,  Managing  Officer; 

Pupils  341  ; Employes  107.  Land,  159  acres. 

The  Illinois  School  for  the  Blind,  Jacksonville,  R.  W.  Woolston,  Managing 
Officer  ; Pupils  208  ; Employes  85.  Land,  36  acres. 

The  Illinois  Industrial  Home  for  the  Blind,  1900  Marshall  Boulevard,  Chicago, 
H.  O.  Hilton,  Managing  Officer;  Inmates  84;  Employes  24. 

The  Illinois  Soldiers’  and  Sailors’  Home,  Quincy,  John  E.  Andrew,  Managing 
Officer;  Members  1405;  Employes  no.  Land,  178  acres. 

The  Soldiers’  Widoivs’  Home  of  Illinois,  Wilmington,  Mrs.  Nettie  F.  McGowan, 
Managing  Officer;  Members  104;  Employes  30.  Land,  15  acres. 

The  Illinois  Soldiers’  Orphans’  Home,  Normal,  John  W.  Rodgers,  Managing 
Officer  ; Children  423  ; Employes  67.  Land,  96  acres. 

The  Illinois  Charitable  Eye  and  Ear  Infirmary,  904  West  Adams,  Chicago,  H.  J. 

Smith,  M.  D.,  Managing  Officer;  Patients  124;  Employes  76. 

The  St.  Charles  School  for  Boys,  St.  Charles,  Colonel  C.  B.  Adams,  Managing 
Officer;  Boys  821;  Employes  115.  Land,  917  acres. 

The  State  Training  School  for  Girls,  Geneva,  Clara  E.  Hayes,  M.  D.,  Managing 
Officer ; Girls  455  ; Employes  84.  Land,  240  acres. 

Illinois  State  Penitentiary,  Joliet,  E.  J.  Murphy,  Warden;  Prisoners, ' 1371 ; 
Employes  no.  Land,  2395  acres. 

Southern  Illinois  Penitentiary,  Menard,  James  A.  White,  Warden;  Prisoners 
909;  Employes  105.  Land,  392  acres. 

Illinois  State  Reformatory,  Pontiac,  James  F.  Scouller,  General  Superintendent; 

Prisoners  821  ; Employes  99.  Land  276  acres. 

Public  Welfare  Commissioners — Frank  P.  Norbury,  M.  D.,  Springfield;.  Ben- 
jamin R.  Burroughs,  Edwardsville ; Emil  G.  Hirsch,  Chicago;  Dr.  Edwin 
C.  Hayes,  Urbana ; Amelia  B.  Sears,  Chicago ; Annie  Henrichsen,  Ex- 
ecutive Secretary,  Springfield. 

Chief  Clerk,  General  Office,  Welfare  Department— E.  R.  Amick. 


**AY28»f§ 


\ 


PROCEEDINGS  OF  A MEETING  OF  INSTITUTION  HEAD 
FARMERS,  GARDENERS  AND  DAIRYMEN 
HELD  AT  THE  JACKSONVILLE  STATE 
HOSPITAL,  JACKSONVILLE,  ILLI- 
NOIS, FEBRUARY  20,  1919 


ci 


Chairman.  Charles  T.  Hoblit  The  meeting  will  now  come  to  order.  The 
first  business  will  be  the  roll  call  of  all  institutions  to  see  who  is  present  for 
each  place. 

Elgin  State  Hospital.  Simon  Burg. 

Kankakee  State  Hospital.  Carl  I.  Wright,  Robt.  Lough,  Frank  Stump. 
Jacksonville  State  Hospital.  James  Stubblefield,  J.  E.  Peterson,  John 
Rodrigues. 

Anna  State  Hospital.  George  W.  Halterman,  Wm.  H.  Ewald,  C.  E. 
Halterman. 

Watertown  State  Hospital.  T.  H.  Craig. 

Peoria  State  Hospital.  Benjamin  Taylor. 

Chicago  State  Hospital.  No  one  present. 

Alton  State  Hospital.  Frank  R.  Dinges,  N.  B.  Scoville,  Leo  Moomaw. 
Lincoln  State  School  and  Colony.  No  one  present. 

Illinois  School  for  the  Deaf.  F.  H.  Theis. 

Dixon  State  Colony.  P.  F.  Keane. 

Illinois  Soldiers’  and  Sailors’  Horne.  J.  H.  Miller,  C.  P.  Dunning,  John 
Anderson. 

Illinois  Soldiers’  Orphans’  Home.  A.  McCauley. 

State  Training  School  for  Girls.  John  F.  Kerr,  Peter  McCallion. 

St.  Charles  School  for  Boys.  L.  S.  Carter,  David  Cooper. 

Illinois  State  Penitentiary.  Wm.  S.  Taylor. 

Southern  Illinois  Penitentiary.  George  I.  B.  Douglas. 

Illinois  State  Reformatory.  H.  McAllister,  W.  L.  Canady,  M.  M.  Goodale. 


i 


c -3 


MEETING  OF  INSTITUTION  HEAD  FARMERS, 
GARDENERS  AND  DAIRYMEN 


February  20,  1919 


Address — Col.  Frank  D.  Whipp,  Fiscal  Supervisor,  Public  Welfare. 

Address — “My  Ideal  of  an  Institution  Farm.”  Henry  H.  Parke,  Assistant 
Director  of  Agriculture. 

Address — “Legislation  Looking  to  the  Standardization  of  Seeds  Sold  in 
Illinois.”  Hon.  Jacob  Frisch,  State  Representative,  Springfield. 

Address — “Last  and  This  Year’s  Crops  on  the  State  Farms.”  Charles  T. 
Hoblit,  Farm,  Garden  and  Dairy  Consultant. 


DISCUSSION 

“Stopping,  Care  and  Prevention  of  Dry  Ditches  and  Gullies.”  Captain 
Douglas,  Southern  Illinois  Penitentiary. 

“Raising  and  Care  of  Chickens,  Ducks,  Geese  and  Turkeys.”  Mr.  McAllister, 
Illinois  State  Reformatory. 

“Soil  Building  on  an  Institution  Farm.”  George  Halterman,  Anna  State 
Hospital. 

“A  Model  Dairy  Barn  and  Correct  Type  of  Male  and  Female  Dairy 
Animal.”  C.  P.  Dunning,  Soldiers’  and  Sailors’  Home. 

“The  -Pruning  and  Proper  Care  of  an  Orchard.”  Mr.  Moomaw,  Alton 
State  Hospital. 

“My  Experience  with  Corn  and  Soy  Bean  Silage.”  Simon  Burg,  Elgin  State 
Hospital. 


PROCEEDINGS 


Mr.  Hoblit.  We  had  for  the  opening  address  today,  Mr.  Thorne, 
Director  of  the  Department,  but  he  will  not  be  able  to  be  here  and  Col. 
Whipp  was  to  be  here  but  hasn’t  gotten  here  yet.  Next  speaker  was 
Hon.  Charles  Adkins  but  he  has  not  appeared  yet  and  Mr.  Frisch  said 
he  didn’t  think  he  would  be  here  until  after  dinner  so  we  will  hear 
from  him  then. 

I guess  while  we  are  waiting  we  will  start  with  the  discussion. 
I will  say  what  I have  to  say  now  and  then  we  will  start  and  maybe  you 
will  want  to  discuss  what  I have  to  say. 

When  I addressed  the  farmers  a little  over  a year  ago  I was  only 
familiar  with  two  of  the  State  farms.  Since  then  I have  visited  all  of 
the  institutions  a number  of  times  and  I am  well  acquainted  now  with 
conditions  at  all  places. 

I wish  to  congratulate  you  gentlemen  upon  the  splendid  showing 
you  made  in  the  institution  crops  last  year  when  the  total  value  of  our 
yield  was  something  over  $250,000  more  than  it  was  the  year  before. 
This  year  the  price  of  farm  products  will  not  be  so  high  and  if  we  are  to 
make  as  good  a showing  a very  great  effort  will  have  to  be  put  forth. 
I know  that  you  gentlemen  are  equal  to  the  occasion  and  that  you  will 
not  only  equal  what  was  produced  last  year  but,  I believe,  actually 
exceed  it. 

Last  year  there  was  a considerable  scarcity  of  help  due  to  war 
conditions,  and  some  things  that  should  have  been  done  were  not  done. 
This  was  notably  true  in  the  care  and  spraying  of  our  orchards.  At 
St.  Charles  this  work  was  thoroughly  well  done  and  a most  excellent 
yield  obtained.  They  had  about  1600  bushels  of  practically  perfect 
apples  and  500  bushel  of  most  excellent  pears,  which  was  more  fruit 
than  that  institution  had  ever  produced,  more  fruit  in  one  year  than 
that  institution  had  previously  produced  since  it  had  been  established. 
This  shows  what  can  be  done  at  the  other  institutions  and  we  want  to 
try  to  do  that  this  year.  We  have,  all  told,  about  250  acres  of  orchards 
and  you  will  be  expected  to  see  that  all  necessary  pruning  and  spraying 
is  done  this  year.  The  work  at  most  of  the  places  has  already  been 
started  and  where  the  work  hasn’t  been  started  this  should  be  gotten 
under  way  at  once.  The  garden  crops,  such  as  asparagus  and  rhubarb, 
will  be  well  covered  with  manure  and  as  much  of  the  other  garden  and 
potato  ground  as  possible.  The  area  devoted  to  winter  onions,  aspar- 
agus, rhubarb  and  strawberries  should  be  sufficient  to  take  care  of  the 
needs  at  each  institution.  Where  this  is  not  true  they  will  be  increased 
enough  to  do  so  during  the  present  year.  Mangel  beets  and  sugar  beets 
will  be  raised  at  all  institutions  this  year  to  reduce  the  pasture  acreage 
and  for  making  syrup. 


6 


I wish  the  following  farm  policies  carried  out  this  season : 

1.  A proper  rotation  of  crops  should  be  followed. 

2.  Practically  all  small  grain  will  be  sown  to  clover  or  alfalfa. 

3.  Soy  beans  will  be  planted  with  the  corn  that  is  to  be  cut  for 
silage,  and  pumpkins,  Hubbard  squash  and  Kentucky  Wonder  Beans 
sown  with  much  of  the  balance.  A patch  of  rye  should  be  sown  this 
fall  at  practically  all  places  to  provide  late  fall  and  early  spring  pasture. 

4.  As  soon  as  the  potato  crop  is  matured  they  should  be  dug  and 
part  of  this  ground  planted  to  turnips.  The  balance  of  the  potato 
ground  will  be  sown  to  sweet  clover,  which  can  be  pastured  this  fall 
and  next  spring  until  about  May,  when  it  will  be  plowed  under  and  put 
in  corn.  This  will  add  more  nitrogen  to  the  soil  than  a medium  cover- 
ing of  manure. 

The  mules  and  horses  at  the  different  institutions,  which  number 
about  480,  are  in  very  good  condition  as  a general  thing  except  that 
some  of  them  are  becoming  quite  old.  It  has  not  been  the  practice  at 
many  of  the  institutions  to  raise  colts,  very  few  have  been  raised  except 
at  Alton,  Kankakee  and  St.  Charles.  The  production  of  colts  should 
be  increased  at  the  other  places  so  that  we  will  have  young  horses  com- 
ing on  to  take  the  place  of  aged  animals,  when  they  are  to  old  to  con- 
tinue working. 

There  is  room  for  considerable  improvement  in  the  way  our  dairies 
are  handled  at  most  of  the  institutions.  The  matter  of  good  feed  and 
plenty  of  it  is  of  much  importance.  The  policy  of  keeping  all  male 
calves  and  raising  them  to  maturity  will  be  discontinued,  as  the  ground 
at  the  different  institutions  is  needed  for  production  of  milk,  which  is 
one  of  the  most  valuable  foods  that  can  be  produced  and  more  of  it  is  • 
needed  at  all  places.  A few  male  calves  from  very  high-test  cows  will 
be  kept  for  our  own  use  and  the  balance  can  be  sold  to  local  farmers 
where  sufficient  inducements  are  offered  for  them.  The  other  male 
calves  will  be  kept  until  about  30  days  of  age  and  then  disposed  of  for 
food. 

Individual  records  of  the  milk  produced  by  each  cow  will  be  kept 
at  all  institutions  this  year.  This  will  enable  us  to  dispose  of  the  un- 
profitable animals  as  fast  as  possible. 

The  hog  production  this  year  has  been  very  good  and  they  are  now 
well  handled  at  practically  all  of  the  institutions.  Up  to  this  year  it 
had  been  the  policy  at  some  places  to  buy  stock  hogs  and  we  have 
frequently  secured  some  disease  and  had  it  get  into  our  other  herds 
from  this  stock.  This  year  we  expect  to  raise  all  of  our  own  pigs  and 
avoid  any  difficulty  of  that  kind.  At  this  time  we  have  444  brood  sowts 
and  38  boars.  These  will  be  used  for  the  production  of  spring  pigs. 

It  is  recommended  that  one  variety  of  hogs  be  kept  at  all  the  institu- 
tions, as  this  adds  to  the  general  appearance  of  the  live  stock.  We  do 
not  desire  to  dictate  any  particular  breed,  but  my  own  favorite  kind  is 
the  Duroc  Jersey,  but  some  of  you  may  fancy  some  other  strain ; 
either  the  Duroc  Jersey,  the  Poland  China  or  the  Chester  White  are 
good  hogs  for  institutions  to  keep. 


I 


7 


* Last  year  a number  of  the  institutions  purchased  sheep  in  the 

spring,  pastured  them  on  the  lawns  until  fall,  when  they  were  slaugh- 
tered and  used  for  food.  From  figures  obtained  at  the  different 
places  I do  not  believe  this  is  a profitable  way  to  handle  sheep.  My 
opinion  is  that  if  sheep  are  to  be  kept,  they  should  be  handled  much 
as  regular  farmers  handle  them.  Keep  the  sheep  all  the  yeqr  around, 
raise  lambs  and  shear  them  for  wool.  I do  not  believe  they  are  a pay- 
ing proposition  to  buy  in  the  spring  and  keep  through  the  fall.  From 
figures  I have  it  does  not  seem  they  have  paid  at  any  of  the  institutions, 
but  I want  to  hear  from  some  of  the  other  institutions  that  I haven’t 
secured  figures  from  before  the  meeting  closes. 

There  is  more  objection  to  the  way  the  poultry  is  handled  at  the 
different  places  than  any  other  department  of  institution  farming. 
The  main  trouble  with  the  poultry  business  seems  to  be  that  nobody 
gives  this  their  special  attention.  There  is  an  old  saying  that,  “Every- 
body’s business  is  nobody’s  business,”  and  that  represents  the  way  the 
poultry  is  handled  at  most  of  the  institutions.  This  year  breeding 
geese  have  been  added  at  practically  all  of  the  institutions  and  some- 
body must  give  the  poultry  his  or  her  attention  and  see  that  they  are 
properly  looked  after.  While  there  has  been  a big  improvement  over 
what  was  done  in  the  poultry  line  last  year,  there  is  still  room  for 
improvement. 

At  all  of  the  institutions  an  effort  has  been  made  during  the 
past  year  to  improve  and  maintain  the  fertility  of  the  soil.  The  soil  is 
naturally  good  at  practically  all  of  the  institutions  with  the  exception 
of  Anna,  Alton,  Menard  and  Peoria.  Limestone  has  been  purchased 
and  applied  to  the  ground  at  these  four  institutions  and  also  at  Kan- 
kakee, where  alfalfa  was  started.  Rock  phosphate  has  .also  been 
applied  to  farms  at  Anna  and  Peoria.  Over  200  loads  of  manure  has 
been  purchased  to  apply  on  farms  at  Kankakee,  Chicago,  Anna,  Water- 
town  and  Geneva.  Ten  cars  has  also  been  recommended  for  purchase 
at  the  Peoria  State  Hospital.  All  of  the  institutions  have  been  pro- 
vided with  large  quantities  of  straw  and  asked  to  bed  live  stock 
liberally  so  as  much  additional  manure  could  be  made  as  possible  at 
all  places.  A number  of  the  institutions  also  secured  leaves  from  the 
lawns  which  has  been  used  for  the  same  purpose.  The  acreage 
of  alfalfa  was  increased  last  year  by  about  150  acres  and  that  and 
other  leguminous  crops  will  be  still  further  increased  during  the  present 
season.  With  the  fertilizer  that  has  been  purchased,  and  what  has  and 
will  be  made  at  the  institutions,  I estimate  that  90,000  tons  will  be 
available  for  application  on  the  different  farms  this  year.  This  will 
make  an  average  application  of  about  nine  tons  per  acre  and  should 
do  a great  deal  towards  maintaining  and  increasing  the  fertility  of 
the  different  farms. 

In  his  biennial  message  to  the  legislature,  Governor  Lowden  saw 
fit  to  call  special  attention  to  the  production  of  the  institution  farms 
this  year.  This  is  the  first  time  to  my  knowledge  that  a Governor  has 
ever  seen  fit  to  do  this,  and  coming  as  it  does  from  a man  who  is  a 


8 


farmer  and  after  he  had  visited  all  farms  throughout  the  State,  I 
think  it  is  a well  merited  compliment  to  all  who  are  connected  with  the 
farming  industries  at  the  State  institutions. 

In  conclusion  I want  to  thank  you  gentlemen  for  the  cooperation 
you  have  given  me  during  the  past  year  and  I hope  that  it  will  continue 
during  the  present  season.  I trust  the  legislature  will  be  liberal  with  us 
in  the  matter  of  appropriations,  and  if  so,  that  an  increase  in  compen- 
sation can  be  given  you  this  year.  I thank  you  for  your  attention. 
{Applause.) 

Mr.  Hoblit.  While  we  are  waiting  I would  like  to  ask  Dr.  Kohn 
if  he  knows  how  the  sheep  paid  that  were  kept  at  Kankakee  this 
year  on  the  lawns,  whether  they  paid  or  not. 

Dr.  Kohn.  We  didn’t  lose  any  money  on  them  and  we  didn’t 
make  much.  It  seems  that  the  type  of  sheep  that  was  sent  to  us  wasn’t 
the  type  of  sheep  that  puts  on  flesh.  The  majority  of  sheep  we  had 
didn’t  have  any  teeth  to  chew  their  food  and  it  is  just  like  a human 
being — if  they  can’t  chew  they  can’t  masticate,  and  if  they  can’t 
masticate  they  can’t  digest,  and  if  they  can’t  digest  they  can’t  put  on 
any  flesh.  Some  of  the  sheep  were  all  right ; they  were  young.  They 
did  very  well  it  seems  to  me,  that  young  lot  of  sheep,  between  the 
month  of  April  and  the  month  of  November,  at  which  time  the  lawn 
food  ceases.  They  ought,  therefore,  to  put  on  from  20  to  30  pounds 
weight — net  weight  each.  I think  that  our  sheep  gained  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  ten  pounds,  the  average,  which  is  about  20  pounds  less 
than  what  they  ought  to  have  gained.  I have  seen  a herd  of  sheep 
under  exact  conditions  gain  from  30  to  40  pounds  each  in  the  same 
length  of  time,  but  they  were  young  animals.  So  I would  advise  if 
any  more  sheep  are  bought  that  the  dentist  examine  them  and  see 
that  they  are  the  kind  that  will  put  on  flesh.  Now  we  are  keeping 
on  purpose  some  twelve  or  fourteen  to  prove  they  are  old  fellows. 
We  are  giving  them  corn  and  grain  and  they  are  getting  poorer  each 
day. 

The  reason  I state  this  is  because  it  is  a very  important  fact  to 
report  this,  Mr.  Whipp,  when  the  Veterinary  of  the  State  purchases 
animals  for  us  again. 

Mr.  Whipp.  Are  you  talking  about  cows  or  sheep? 

Dr.  Kohn.  Sheep.  I suppose  cows  are  about  the  same,  but  I 
am  especially  in  favor  of  sheep  from  a standpoint  of  food  production, 
and  think  of  the  beauty.  I think  nothing  looks  prettier  than  to  see  a 
herd  of  sheep  on  the  lawns  and  an  old  shepherd  standing  by  attending 
them — it  is  picturesque,  and  at  an  institution  it  is  well  worth  the 
trouble  to  improve  the  appearance  of  them  in  order  to  make  the  lives 
of  those  who  are  kept  here  as  pleasant  as  possible.  I am  in  favor  of 
sheep,  am  in  favor  of  the  type  of  sheep  that  Mr.  Hoblit  is  (improving 
the  type  that  I bought  in  the  spring).  But  kill  in  the  fall — I don’t 
see  the  logic  personally.  I rather  think  it  would  pay  all  winter,  and  we 
depend  altogether  on  the  grass  of  the  lawns  in  the  summer. 

Mr.  Hoblit.  The  logic  is  simply  this — that  the  Peoria  State 


9 


Hospital  that  bought  100  sheep  and  went  to  the  trouble  of  taking  care 
of  them  all  year,  killed  them  all  in  the  fall,  did  all  that  work  and  lost 
$378.00  on  the  deal,  figuring  the  mutton  at  the  price  they  could  have 
bought  it. 

Mr.Whipp.  Wasn’t  this  due  largely  to  market  conditions? 

Mr.  Hoblit.  I don’t  think  so.  I think  sheep  are  higher  in  the 
spring  than  any  other  time ; it  is  a poor  time  to  buy.  I didn’t  get  the 
figures  at  Kankakee,  but  I had  them  at  Watertown ; they  lost  money 
there. 

Mr.  Whipp.  I think  this  was  an  unusual  year. 

Mr.  Hoblit.  I prefer  plenty  of  geese  and  to  graze  them  on  the 
lawns,  or  the  young  dairy  cattle  where  it  would  not  be  offensive  to 
do  so.  I don’t  think  it  would  be  a good  idea  to  do  this  at  Kan- 
kakee, but  at  Peoria  they  have  some  very  rough  lawns  where  part 
could  be  used  for  that  purpose.  But  if  you  will  raise  three  or  four 
hundred  geese  and  graze  them  on  the  lawn  they  will  make  a lot  more 
money  and  there  won’t  be  any  bother  about  filling  their  teeth. 

Dr.  Kohn.  I remember  very  well  some  four  years  ago  we  had  a 
flock  of  sheep  that  gained  an  average  of  30  pounds  each  between 
April  and  November,  and  they  had  nothing  but  lawn  grass,  and  I 
think  we  can  do  that  again. 

Mr.  Hoblit.  It  might  be  this  year  the  sheep  were  bought  too 
high,  and  as  you  say,  no  doubt  they  ought  to  masticate  the  grass  to 
do  well. 

Well,  we  will  drop  this  subject,  and  we  are  now  going  to  hear  an 
address  by  Col.  Frank  Whipp,  who  is  substituting  for  Mr.  Thorne, 
who  is  unable  to  be  present  on  account  of  important  business  in 
Springfield.  Col.  Whipp  certainly  has  the  interest  of  the  farms  at 
heart,  and  the  institutions  generally,  and  I know  that  you  will  all  be 
glad  to  hear  what  he  has  to  say  on  any  subject  that  he  wishes  to  talk 
on.  Col.  Whipp  will  now  talk. 

Col.  Whipp.  Mr.  Chairman,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  I am  very 
sorry  indeed  that  we  were  unable  to  arrive  here  in  time  to  be  present 
at  the  opening  of  your  meeting.  We  started  from  Springfield  at 
eight  o’clock  this  morning  in  a Ford  automobile  and  it  took  three 
hours  to  reach  here. 

It  is  indeed  an  honor  and  a privilege  to  be  with  you  today. 
Yesterday  Mr.  Thorne,  our  director,  asked  me  to  attend  your  meeting 
and  to  represent  him.  He  stated  that  he  was  obliged  to  remain  in 
Springfield  owing  to  a special  order  of  the  Governor.  He  asked  me  to 
express  to  you  his  high  appreciation  of  the  splendid  work  done  last 
year  on  the  farms  and  the  excellent  showing  made.  He  also  requested 
that  I say  to  you  that  he  hopes  that  this  good  work  will  continue  and 
that  next  year  you  will  be  able  to  give  as  good  an  account,  if  not  better, 
of  your  stewardship.  At  his  request,  I will  read  a letter  from  him 
addressed  to  me  which  I ask  be  made  a part  of  your  proceedings : 


10 


Colonel  Frank  D.  Whipp, 

Department  of  Public  Welfare, 

Springfield,  Illinois. 

My  Dear  Colonel  Whipp ; 

Because  of  some  special  orders  from  the  Governor  I 
shall  have  to  remain  in  Springfield  on  Thursday,  which  will 
deprive  me  of  the  pleasure  of  attending  the  meeting  of  the  insti- 
tution farmers. 

I wish  you  would  explain  the  situation  to  them  and 
give  them  assurance  that  the  continuing  progress  which  they 
have  made  over  the  last  two  years,  with  the  evidence  of  further 
progress  to  be  made  during  the  coming  year,  is  highly  pleasing 
to  me  and  to  Governor  Lowden. 

If  such  progress  can  be  continued  I believe  that  it  will 
not  be  long  before  the  farms  of  the  State  are  recognized  as 
models  and  leaders  in  their  respective  communities,  farms  in 
which  the  State  and  those  directly  in  charge  can  take  a just 
pride. 

Very  truly  yours, 

(Signed)  Charles  H.  Thorne, 

Director. 

The  director  also  asked  me  to  give  you  a message  from  Governor 
Lowden,  who  is  always  interested  in  agriculture  matters.  The  Gov- 
ernor extends  his  congratulations  on  the  splendid  record  made  last 
year.  He  hopes  that  all  institution  farms  will  be  made  models  and  that 
they  will  compare  favorably  with  the  most  approved  and  up-to-date 
farms  in  your  community. 

Today  we  are  in  Morgan  county,  one  of  the  most  prosperous  farm- 
ing communities  in  the  State.  My  grandfather  was  one  of  the  early 
pioneers  of  this  county  and  perhaps  it  would  not  be  out  of  place  to 
relate  some  of  his  early  experiences.  He  came  to  this  country  with  his 
family  almost  ninety  years  ago,  and  landed  at  New  Orleans,  came  up 
the  Mississippi  river  to  St.  Louis,  thence  up  the  Illinois  river  to  Beards- 
town,  and  from  there  he  went  to  a point  about  ten  miles  west  of  Jack- 
sonville, where  he  entered  a homestead  claim,  built  a log  cabin  and 
started  farming.  He  built  a log  cabin  with  the  logs  pegged  together 
with  wooden  pegs  without  a single  nail  in  it;  over  the  windows  it 
had  oiled  paper.  The  cabin  was  built  in  the  crudest  manner.  There 
was  an  upper  story  but  no  stairway.  My  father  slept  above,  and  every 
night  when  he  went  to  bed  he  was  obliged  to  climb  a ladder  on  the  side 
of  the  cabin.  He  said  that  he  could  see  the  stars  through  the  holes  in 
the  roof  between  the  shingles,  that  oftentimes  in  the  mornings  he  would 
wake  up  and  find  snow  all  over  his  bed,  that  Indians  were  occasionally 
seen  from  the  cabin  door  and  deer  were  frequently  running  about  the 
claim.  He  related  to  me  how  he  had  captured  a little  fawn  that  be- 
came a pet,  was  kept  until  it  was  a large  deer  and  one  day  it  was  killed 
by  a hunter.  It  was  one  of  the  saddest  moments  of  his  life.  I simply 
relate  this  little  story  because  I am  in  Morgan  county  this  morning. 

I have  heard  the  wondrous  story  of  Illinois  all  my  life.  I have 
heard  it  at  the  fire-side,  at  my  mother’s  knee,  at  bed  time,  meal  time 


and  during  my  long  connection  with  the  State  administration  it  has 
almost  been  a daily  topic.  I am  proud  that  I live  in  Illinois.  Every 
acre  of  this  grand  old  State  is  dear  to  me.  Let  us  picture  its  grandeur 
and  beauty,  with  the  wonderful  Starved  Rock  on  the  banks  of  the 
Illinois  river  near  Ottawa,  the  tremendous  cliffs  and  rocks  bordering 
the  Mississippi  river,  the  majestic  Cahokia  mounds  in  St.  Clair 
county.  It  has  been  said  that  these  cliffs  and  rocks  are  unsurpassed 
in  beauty  by  even  the  palisades  of  the  Hudson. 

Let  us  picture,  if  you  please,  the  wonderful  Lake  Michigan,  the 
great  rivers,  the  other  bodies  of  water  in  the  State,  the  old  forts  and 
the  historic  spots  in  almost  every  county  of  the  State.  When  we  travel 
on  the  railroad  train  north,  south,  east  and  west,  we  look  out  the  car 
window,  we  see  all  that  remains  of  the  pioneer  trail.  We  see  beautiful 
cities  and  wonderfully  cultivated  farms  and  gardens  and  everywhere 
we  behold  the  magnificence  of  Illinois. 

One  of  the  most  beautiful  tributes  to  Illinois  that  I ever  read  is 
contained  in  two  paragraphs  of  Parrish’s  history  describing  the  early 
days  of  the  State.  It  states : 

“In  its  virgin  wilderness  beauty,  it  is  difficult  to  imagine  a more 
magnificent  domain.  The  unbroken  prairies  were  broused  over  by 
countless  herds  of  buffalo  and  in  the  dark  coverlets  of  the  woods,  bears 
lurked  in  search  of  their  prey,  timid  deer  skulked,  affrighted  by  the 
slightest  sound.  From  village  to  village  ran  snake-like  trails  along 
which  the  silent  hunter  stole  like  a shadow,  or  some  bedecked  party 
of  warriors  passed  swiftly  in  search  of  their  enemies.  It  was  indeed 
a scene  from  nature,  as  yet,  untouched  by  the  restraint  of  civilization, 
wild,  lonely,  savagely  beautiful  and  nowhere  was  there  a scene  of 
peace  or  prosperity.” . Isn’t  that  a wonderful  story  ? 

Civilization  came.  The  sky-scraper  took  place  of  the  wigwam, 
the  railroad  train,  the  prairie-schooner,  drawn  by  oxen,  and  oceans  of 
waving  fields  of  corn  took  the  place  of  unbroken  prairies. 

Our  cultivated  fields  and  gardens  have  turned  Illinois  into  one 
of  the  largest  bread-baskets  of  the  world,  and  aside  from  feeding  her 
own  people  she  is  now  relieving  the  starved  people  of  Europe.  Her 
bountiful  riches  of  earth  do  not  include  diamonds,  gold  or  silver,  but 
God  has  endowed  her  with  an  abundant  supply  of  coal  to  keep  the 
industries  going  and  the  home  fires  burning.  Her  main  asset,  how- 
ever, is  the  sterling  quality  of  her  citizenship.  The  first  people  in 
Illinois  were  the  Indians,  from  which  she  derived  her  name.  Then 
came  the  white  settlers,  then  the  soldier,  then  the  immigrants  from  the 
foreign  countries,  until  our  population  has  been  melted  into  the  greatest 
of  all  peoples,  “Americans”. 

Illinois,  starting  100  years  ago  with  only  35,000  people,  has 
grown  to  a colossal  population  of  six  and  one  quarter  million,  and 
now  with  her  legions  of  people  she  is  one  of  the  strongest  and 
wealthiest  States  of  the  Union. 

Her  accomplishments  lie  in  the  development  of  her  wonderful 
resources,  her  splendid  educational  institutions,  her  great  commercial 


12 


enterprises,  her  famous  men  she  has  given  to  her  country,  her  314,000 
brave  and  courageous  soldiers  who  have  been  with  the  colors,  and 
her  matchless  institutions  for  the  care  of  the  unfortunates,  all  of 
which  have  been  a force  for  civilization  and  progress. 

What  have  been  the  achievments  of  Illinois  during  the  past  year? 
$900,000,000  in  farm  crops,  1,500,000  men  registered  for  the  war, 

314,000  men  enlisted  in  the  war,  $1,300,000,000  subscribed  in  liberty 
bonds  and  war  saving  stamps,  $42,000,000  subscribed  to  war  relief 
funds  and  $9,000,000,000  in  manufacturing  articles.  Isn’t  this  a 
record  to  be  proud  of?  (Applause). 

The  State  institutions  of  Illinois  have  27,000  inmates,  many  of 
whom,  coming  into  the  world  with  deficient  minds  and  bodies,  never 
had  a chance*  to  fight  the  battles  with  others  who  were  more  fortunate, 
many  had  the  wrong  environment  to  start  with,  others  lost  their  health 
and  there  are  still  other  derelicts  who  have  slipped  or  fallen  in  their 
effort  to  live  in  society.  Society  has  a tremendous  function  to  perform 
in  conserving  the  human  waste  of  Illinois,  Illinois,  with  its  trained 
experts,  is  turning  considerable  of  this  waste  into  self-supporting 
citizens.  It  cannot  make  over  society  so  the  next  best  thing  is  to 
make  repairs  where  it  can.  Our  State  institutions  are  the  reapir 
shops.  Although  many  of  the  insane  cannot  be  cured,  brains  cannot 
be  given  to  feeble-minded  children  who  were  born  without  them,  and 
there  are  criminals  that  cannot  be  reformed,  yet  intermingled  with 
this  mass  of  almost  irreclaimable  humanity,  there  are  those  that  can 
be  made  over. 

The  other  night  the  Sangamo  Club  of  Springfield  entertained  the  4 

members  of  the  General  Assembly  and  the  State  officers  with  a vaude- 
ville show  in  its  club  rooms.  One  of  the  principal  attractions  was 
Sidney  Smith,  the  great  cartoonist,  who  draws  old  Doc  Yac  pictures 
for  the  Chicago  Tribune,  with  his  famous  automobile  No.  348.  He 
kept  the  audience  in  continuous  laughter  from  start  to  finish  with  the 
pictures  he  drew  of  some  of  the  prominent  men  present.  He  sketched 
Governor  Lowden.  First  he  drew  his  head  and  bust,  then  he  inquired, 

“What  will  I do  with  the  Governor?”  Someone  suggested,  make  a 
farmer  of  him,  so  Mr.  Smith  placed  on  his  head  a large  farmer  style 
straw  hat,  with  a red,  white  and  blue  ribbon  around  it.  He  then  tied 
around  his  neck  a bandanna  handkerchief.  The  artist  then  said, 

“What  had  I better  do  with  him  now?”  Someone  replied,  put  him  on 
a load  of  hay,  so  the  artist  arranged  Governor  Lowden  sitting  on  the 
front  end  of  a wagon  load  of  hay  with  his  knees  up.  Someone  then 
suggested  a span  of  mules  be  hitched  to  the  wagon,  thereupon  Mr. 

Smith  accommodatingly  produced  the  mules,  and  the  Governor  was 
seen  driving  a load  of  hay  to  market.  The  Governor  enjoyed  this  picture 
as  much  as  anyone.  Let  us  hope  that  this  splendid  man,  this  great  war 
Governor,  this  farmer  and  this  statesman  will  achieve  other  distin- 
guished honors,  and  if  he  wishes,  that  he  be  placed  in  the  highest 
position  within  the  gift  of  the  people  of  the  whole  United  States. 
(Applause) . 


13 


I thank  you  very  much  for  listening  to  my  remarks.  I know  that 
you  will  be  glad  to  hear  the  distinguished  speakers,  Mr.  Frisch  and 
Parke,  who  are  to  follow  me. 

Mr.  Frisch.  The  question  of  seed  legislation  is  a matter  that  has 
been  taken  up  by  only  half  of  the  States  in  the  Union  and  then  only 
without  much  regard  to  any  uniformity. 

While  efforts  have  been  made  to  protect  the  grower  and  insure  as 
great  returns  as  possible  from  seeding,  yet  the  ideas  differ  greatly  as 
to  what  is  expected  of  a pure  seed  law. 

In  some  states  they  have  endeavored  to  legislate  for  purity  of  seed 
only,  and  statement  on  packages  of  bulk  seed,  containing  in  excess  of 
ten  pounds,  as  to  the  amount  of  noxious  seed,  the  amount  of  chaff  and 
inert  matter  present,  the  growers  name  and  locality  in  which  it  was 
raised,  seems  to  be  the  only  qualifications. 

It  is  then  up  to  the  judgment  of  the  purchaser  as  to  whether  he 
finds  a sample  of  low  or  high  purity. 

The  requirements  of  different  laws  vary  from  one  impure  seed  in 
two  hundred  to  one  in  three  thousand. 

With  such  a wide  latitude,  we  can  not  hope  to  achieve  very  much 
from  the  laws  in  effect  at  present,  unless  a standard  can  be  arrived  at 
which  will  debar  from  sale  such  seed  that  shows  excess  of  impurities. 

At  the  present  time  much  will  have  to  depend  on  individual 
growers  or  organizations  of  farmers,  to  make  local  selections,  to 
improve  varieties  and  local  conditions. 

We  find  in  some  neighborhoods  that  the  county  farm  advisor  has 
added  the  duties  of  seed  expert  to  his  other  endeavors. 

He  has,  in  cooperation  with  the  farmers,  bought  seed  in  large 
quantities  from  tested  fields,  whose  germination  and  purity  have  been 
assured,  and  thereby  has  protected  his  county  from  an  influx  of  worth- 
less and  unproductive  growths. 

Unless  changes  are  made  in  the  laws  now  pending  in  the  legislature 
and  a nation  wide  uniformity  exist,  we  will  have  but  little  improvement 
over  our  present  open  gate  methods. 

The  reports  from  our  State  institution  farms  show  that  under 
the  present  system  of  supervision  our  yield  compares  very  favorably 
with  the  best  results  obtained  by  private  individuals. 

We  hope  in  the  near  future,  by  hard  work  and  the  assistance  of 
our  State  employees,  to  be  able  to  show  the  State  farms  as  the  model 
and  show  places  of  the  State.  Thank  you.  (Applause). 

Mr.  Hoblit.  Mr.  Adkins  is  unable  to  come,  I suppose  for  the 
same  reason  that  kept  Mr.  Thorne  away.  He  has  sent,  however,  a 
very  able  substitute  who  talked  to  us  in  an  interesting  manner  last  year, 
so  I am  sure  we  will  all  be  glad  to  hear  from  him  again.  I will  now 
introduce  Mr.  Parke,  who  will  discuss  on  the  “Ideal  Institution  Farm”, 
and  this  will  give  you  all  something  to  look  up  to  because  he  will  set  an 
ideal  for  us  to  endeavor  to  reach. 

Mr.  Parke.  Mr.  Adkins,  I know,  appreciates  the  work  that  is 
being  done  on  the  institutional  farm  as  much  as  anybody  else  and  he  has 


14 


spoken  of  it  with  encouragement  a great  many  times,  and  has  won- 
derful hopes  for  the  future. 

I fully  appreciate  the  great  responsibility  that  rest  on  the  shoul- 
ders of  Mr.  Hoblit  in  the  various  farm  activities  of  State  farms,  and  of 
the  great  responsibility  that  rests  upon  your  shoulders,  and  at  the  same 
time  I may  say  that,  as  Mr.  Whipp  said,  we  ought  to  be  proud  of  the 
progress  that  has  already  been  made  and  look  forward  to  a great  deal 
of  progress  in  the  future. 

The  farming  of  today  is  not  what  it  was  fifty  years  ago,  or  sixty 
years  ago.  At  that  time,  as*  the  old  story  goes,  all  the  farmers  had  to 
do  was  to  “tickle  the  ground  with  the  hoe  and  it  would  leave  with  a 
crop”.  Today  we  have  a different  story.  We  have  all  these  years  been 
taking  out  the  fertility  of  the  soil  and  putting  very  little  of  it  back,  and 
as  a consequence  the  yields  of  the  State  of  Illinois  have  been  kept  up 
only  by  the  addition  of  new  land,  bringing  it  under  cultivation  by  re- 
moving timber  and  bringing  new  land  under  cultivation  by  draining  out 
swamp  lands.  I dare  say  that  if  crop  yields  could  be  taken  only  upon 
the  farm  land,  farmed  for  twenty-five  years,  we  would  have  a very 
material  reduction  in  average  yield.  If  we  would  go  through  the 
eastern  states,  we  would  find  an  area  equal  to  Massachusetts,  Connecti- 
cut and  Rhode  Island  that  had  been  adandoned  in  less  than  ten  years, 
land  formerly  in  a high  state  of  cultivation,  and  we  are  following  today 
the  same  system  of  farming  that  they  followed,  and  wherever  a man  has 
followed  that  system  long  enough  in  his  farming  he  has  ruined  his  soil. 
We  see  that  all  through  the  eastern  states  and  as  we  travel  west,  and 
the  only  reason  that  we  haven’t  turned  the  tables  is  because  all  through 
these  years  we  have  had  new  land  to  bring  under  the  plow.  Horace 
Greeley  said,  “Young  man,  go  west.”  We  have  traveled  west  until  we 
can  travel  no  farther.  Our  exports  have  been  constantly  decreasing 
and  our  population  increasing,  and  we  have  reached  the  time  now  when 
our  exports  are  no  larger  than  our  imports,  and  we  have  got  to  live 
upon  what  we  have. 

The  first  intimation  we  have  had  of  soil  depletion  is  clover  failures, 
and  I don’t  believe  that  any  one  of  us  hardly  appreciates  what  a clover 
failure  means.  Clover  failures  have  come  so  often  in  the  southern  part 
of  the  State  and  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  United  States  that  we  have 
ceased  to  raise  clover  in  a good  many  sections.  Now  a clover  failure 
in  one  county,  say  Morgan  or  DeKalb,  means  a loss  to  farms  of  that 
coutny  of  one  million  dollars.  It  means  the  loss  of  not  only  the  clover 
’seed  and  clover  crop,  but  it  means  the  loss  of  from  five  to  twenty 
bushel  of  corn  that  follows  the  clover,  and  five  to  ten  bushel  of  wheat 
that  follows  the  corn,  and  when  these  are  added  together  we  have  a 
loss  of  a good  deal  over  a million  dollars.  And  why  these  clover 
failures?  It  is  because  we  have  removed  from  the  soil  the  elements 
that  are  necessary  to  produce  clover  and  to  produce  corn,  and  one  of 
these  elements  I think  all  of  us  know,  is  limestone,  and  another  element 
is  phosphate.  There  are  a few  people  that  think  they  are  doing  good 
farming  when  they  are  practicing  a good  system  of  clover  rotation. 


15 


Rotation  with  clover  simply  assists  the  farmer  in  producing  larger 
crops  by  converting  insoluble  plant  food  into  soluble  food,  which 
plants  utilize  it,  and  thus  leaving  the  ground  poorer  than  before. 

The  older  countries  of  Europe  reached  the  condition  of  our 
eastern  states  fifty  years  ago.  The  farmers  were  reduced  to  a state 
of  peasantry  or  serfs,  then  the  government  took  a hand.  It  started 
in  with  argriculture  advisors,  county  advisors  and*  then  with  schools. 
The  little  country  of  Denmark  since  1880  introduced  agricultural 
schools  and  agricultural  colleges,  and  today  that  country  has  29 
agricultural  colleges,  a country  one-fourth  the  size  of  Illinois.  Her 
farms  are  the  richest  farms  in  the  world  per  capita.  They  export  *$7.00 
worth  of  farm  crops  per  acre  for  the  whole  country,  and  we  are  just 
beginning  to  learn  those  lessons  because  we  will  soon  have  to  face  them. 

I spoke  a few  moments  ago  about  the  necessity  of  starting  in  on 
limestone.  A ton  of  clover  takes  out  75  pounds  of  limestone,  and 
most  of  these  soils  once  had  sufficient  amount  for  ten,  twenty,  thirty 
or  forty  years.  In  Southern  Illinois  they  need  four  to  five  tons 
before  they  can  start  raising  clover,  and  also  phosphate.  I have  been 
using  it  on  my  own  farm  for  the  last  eight  or  ten  years  and  I have 
also  been  using  phosphate.  I find  that  in  the  older  fields  of  my  farm 
the  soil,  when  the  litmus  test  is  applied,  indicates  acidity  very  quickly 
on  land  that  has  been  under  cultivation  for  ten  or  twelve  years.  The 
results  of  the  use  of  limestone  and  phosphate  over  all  the  states  are 
so  encouraging  that  it  is  a rather  easy  job  for  the  farm  advisors  to 
get  the  farmers  to  use  it,  and  especially  aftfer  a few  of  the  most  pro- 
gressive farmers  have  demonstrated  its  influence  on  their  soil. 

This  year  I had  one  wheat  field,  three-fourths  of  it  had  been 
treated  with  limestone  and  phosphate  and  ten  acres  left  aside.  It 
yielded  45  bushel  of  wheat  to  the  acre  and  I have  no  doubt  that  if  that 
other  ten  acres  had  had  phosphate  and  limestone  I would  ha^e  had 
more  than  45,  possibly  50.  In  another  field  I had  alfalfa  for  three 
years,  corn  three  years,  which  produced  a wheat  crop  of  47  bushel  to 
the  acre  and  this  year  it  produced  71  bushel  of  barley  to  the  acre.  This 
land  had  been  in  alfalfa  a second  time  and  alfalfa  has  been  over  the 
whole  farm  more  than  once  in  rotation  with  other  crops.  I have  given 
up  raising  clover  because  I can  make  more  money  out  of  alfalfa 
than  I can  clover.  It  produces  more  and  it  is  more  valuable  for  all 
kinds  of  stock  whether  it  be  horses,  dairy  cows,  hogs,  chickens  or  sheep. 
There  has  been  scarcely  a year  in  the  last  seventeen  years  that  alfalfa 
has  not  yielded  returns  from  $40.00  to  $100.00  an  acre.  Alfalfa, 
together  with  silage,  gives  us  a balanced  ration  for  a growing  steer 
and  a balanced  ration  for  a dairy  cow. 

More  beef  can  be  produced  per  dcre  with  silage  and  alfalfa  than 
any  other  two  crops.  On  my  own  farm  I put  most  of  the  corn  in  the 
silo  because  I can  produce  more  beef  per  acre.  It  reduces  the  cost 
of  maintenance  a third  when  corn  is  put  in  silage.  . 

Three  years  ago  I had  one  fourteen-acre  field  that  produced 
four  tons  of  alfalfa  the  first  two  crops,  a field  that  had  limestone  and 


16 


phosphate  and  the  third  crop  120  shoats  had  access  to  it,  yet  they  made 
a 30  pound  gain,  which  meant  about  $30.00.  The  four  ton  was  sold 
for  $16.00  and  the  people  came  and  got  it,  making  almost  $100.00  an 
acre. 

One  of  the  things  that  could  be  accomplished  in  all  the  counties 
where  they  have  farm  advisors,  and  should  be  accomplished,  would 
be  to  get  the  best  varieties  of  corn,  barley,  wheat  and  oats  grown 
instead  of  medium  yielding  variety. 

I have  felt  for  the  last  twenty  years  that  farmers  were  losing 
a great  deal  because  their  experiment  stations  were  not  endeavoring 
to  find  out  the  best  varieties  for  a particular  section.  We  were 
fortunate  in  the  section  where  I lived  in  having  an  experiment  field 
that  was  carrying  out  variety  tests  on  corn,  oats,  wheat  and  on  barley. 
We  found  one  variety  of  corn  that  produced  seven  bushel  more  per 
acre  than  all  the  other  varieties  that  were  our  standard  varieties  of 
corn  and  produced  seven  more  bushel  for  seven  years,  seven  succes- 
sive years.  That  variety  of  corn  was  dessiminated  among  a few  farmers 
who  sold  the  seed  back  to  the  County  Advisor  Association  and  the  next 
year  that  variety  was  sent  all  over  the  county.  Every  farmer  had  a 
chance  to  purchase  that  variety.  The  same  was  done  with  wheat  and 
the  same  with  oats.  Now  that  seven  bushel  spread  over  a county 
meant  over  one  and  a half  million  dollars  every  year,  and  I might  say 
just  a word  about  seed  as  long  as  it  has  been  brought  up. 

This  farm  association  this  year  is  distributing  to  the  farmers 
over  1200  bushel  of  alfalfa  seed  and  over  2000  bushel  of  clover 
seed,  and  the  best  seed  that  money  can  buy,  seed  selected  by  a seed 
expert  for  over  two  thousand  farmers.  This  seed  was  purchased  in 
Idaho  on  farms  where  no  foul  seeds  grow  and  in  fact,  where  the 
Department  of  Agriculture  gets  it  seed  for  our  various  experiment 
stations  in  the  United  States.  We  bought  seed  in  this  manner 
because  we  are  unable  to  get  good  seed  through  our  elevators,  seeds 
that  would  not  have  injurious  weed  seeds  in  them. 

I remember  buying  a little  timothy,  not  very  much,  that  contained 
some  mustard  and  I had  at  that  time  no  mustard  on  the  farm.  It  cost 
me  over  $50.00  to  get  that  mustard  out. 

Indiana  Screening  Mills  advertise  their  seed  screening  in  the 
State  of  Illinois  because  they  can’t  sell  them  in  Indiana.  Last  year 
I know  of  a three  car  load  shipment  passing  through  Ft.  Huron, 
destined  for  Chicago,  probably  to  mix  with  good  seed,  because  they 
can  put  in  a small  amount  of  inert  matter  and  weed  seeds  and  still 
sell  the  produce  on  the  market  at  a good  price. 

I think  the  farm  advisor  can  help  the  institutional  head  farmers 
in  the  counties  where  we  have  farm  advisors  in  many  ways.  They  can 
at  least  bring  to  us,  and  have  brought  to  my  own  farm,  the  practices 
of  the  best  farmers  in  the  country.  They  find  one  doing  special  work 
in  feeding  pigs,  care  of  poultry  or  in  feeding  cattle  or  in  dairying;  they 
get  these  practices  and  carry  them  on  to  other  farmers  and  that  is 
one  of  the  best  things  county  farm  advisors  are  doing,  and  they  are 


17 


paid  by  the  State  for  doing  this  work  and  they  are  accomplishing  a 
great  deal. 

I know  that  everyone  in  the  room  here  never  fails  to  treat  their 
oats,  or  wheat,  or  barley  before  sowing.  Now  in  Peoria  county,  I 
understand,  that  a few  years  ago  but  few  farmers  treated  their  oats 
or  wheat  and  I want  to  show  you  the  progress  that  has  been  made 
by  them  along  this  line. 

In  1913  but  5 per  cent  of  the  farmers  treated;  in  1914,  10  per 
cent;  in  1915,  30  per  cent;  in  1916,  90  per  cent;  and.  in  1917  enough 
formalin  was  sowed  to  treat  one  and  one-half  bushel  of  oats  for  every 
acre  in  Peoria  county,  and  with  an  increase  of  seven  bushel  per  acre 
of  oats.  As  the  experience  shows,  this  meant  500,000  bushel  to  Peoria, 
or  an  increase  of  $285,000. 

One  of  the  most  important  branches  of  farming  in  our  State  is 
our  dairies  and  our  garden.  These  two  activities  pay  half  the  grocery 
bill  on  each  farm  and  almost  half  of  the  State  farm,  and  it  is  well  that 
we  have  fine  dairies.  I am  mighty  glad  to  know  that  we  have  some  of 
the  best  cows  in  the  State  on  these  farms  and  great  progress  is  being 
made  improving  the  dairies. 

The  State  Department  of  Agriculture  has  been  trying  to  eliminate 
tuberculosis  among  our  dairy  cattle.  We  can’t  have  good  dairies  with 
tuberculer  cows,  neither  can  we  have  healthy  pigs.  I remember  a little 
experiment  in  Iowa  where  they  had  divided  a herd  of  forty  dairy  cows, 
actors  and  reactors,  then  they  divided  a bunch  of  hogs  or  little  pigs. 
They  fed  one  bunch,  forty  pigs,  milk  from  a healthy  herd  and  the  other 
bunch  from  the  reactors,  then  butchered  the  pigs.  They  found  about 
80  per  cent  of  those  getting  reactor’s  milk  showed  tuberculosis  and 
those  getting  milk  from  the  healthy  herd  showed  the  normal,  three  or 
four  per  cent,  whatever  it  was. 

Mr.  Peters  gave  me  a card  showing  progress  in  the  State  work  on 
testing  tuberculosis.  They  have  tested  today  138  herds,  66  herds  are 
now  on  the  waiting  list  and  he  says  they  have  six  men  at  work  testing 
and  that  there  could  be  more  men.  Now  these  117  herds  in  a previous 
report  consisting  of  4600  cows  were  treated,  339  reactors  were  found. 
Over  200  of  these  have  been  slaughtered  and  178  are  still  in  quarantine. 
Some  of  these  are  very  valuable  cows  that  were  in  calf  and  it  was  de- 
sired to  keep  the  calves.  The  most  encouraging  statement  he  made  was 
that  51  of  these  herds  were  clean  herds  and  he  says  that  he  didn’t 
doubt  that  perhaps  90  per  cent  of  those  would  pass  the  second  test. 
That  certainly  is  a highly  encouraging  fact,  and  with  such  a start  as 
that  among  the  breeders,  some  of  the  best  breeders  in  the  State  and  in 
the  State  herds  we  have,  it  means  that  at  no  distant  future  that  we 
may  be  able  to  clean  up  the  whole  State. 

Another  piece  of  good  work  is  the  cow  testing  that  is  going  on. 
For  years  and  years  the  farmers  have  been  “tied  to  the  tail  of  a poor 
cow.”  The  results  secured  from  the  cow  testing  associations  are  re- 
markable in  some  instances.  I think  there  are  fifty  or  sixty  cow  testing 
associations  in  Illinois  today.  In  the  country  of  Denmark  there  is 


18 


hardly  a cow  that  doesn’t  belong  to  a testing  association,  and  they  have 
doubled  their  production  in  less  than  ten  years,  and  that  is  one  reason 
why  Denmark  has  the  highest  per  capita  valuation. 

Mr.  Hoblit  made  one  mighty  good  statement  in  regard  to  hogs, 
getting  uniformity  in  breeds  of  hogs  on  State  farms.  It  matters  not 
what  kind  but  I would  like  to  see  uniformity  of  breeding  stock  in  State 
herds  and  communities,  where  there  can  be  cooperation  and  where 
otherwise  there  could  be  no  cooperation.  I know  a little  community 
down  in  Indiana  where  there  is  cooperation  in  breeding  white  faced 
cattle  and  because  of  that  cooperation  there  were  more  white  faced 
cattle  sold  out  of  that  community  than  any  part  of  the  United  States. 
That  same  kind  of  cooperation  is  increasing  the  value  of  their  horses 
in  Tazewell  county  from  $50.00  to  $100.00.  I learned  that  from  a 
mighty  good  horse  fellow  who  knew  what  he  was  talking  about. 

And  the  poultry.  I presume  we  have  a high  class  of  poultry  on 
these  farms  and  if  we  havn’t  I believe  we  should  have.  One  thing  I 
learned  the  other  day  we  could  do,  and  that  is  to  eliminate  the  hen  that 
does  not  lay.  I think  perhaps  some  experiment  station  has  found  out 
how  to  pick  out  the  non-laying  hen,  the  “Star  Boarder”,  and  fire  her 
out  of  the  poultry  house. 

Several  county  farm  advisors  have  been  holding  community  meet- 
ings around  in  the  counties  showing  the  farmers  how  to  throw  out 
these  hens.  Here  is  what  he  did  on  one  farm.  Out  of  286  hens  that 
were  laying  in  the  winter  62  eggs  per  day,  he  culled  out  144  of  them  and 
only  lost  six  eggs.  One-half  o.f  the  hens  had  been  culled  out,  the 
feed  bill  cut  in  two,  and  only  lost  six  eggs. 

I think  all  of  our  State  farms  should  have  the  highest  grades  of  all 
kinds,  whether  horses,  cattle,  hogs,  or  poultry.  We  can’t  afford  to  have 
any  scrub  stock  on  these  farms.  It  reminds  me  of  a little  story  of  a 
man.  He  said  he  was  approaching  a farm  one  day  and  saw  an  old  cow 
with  her  head  down,  and  she  was  a scrub  cow,  and  he  says  he  looked 
down  the  road  and  there  was  a little  burrow  and  then  he  saw  a little 
pig  running  round  the  house,  and  it  was  a runt  pig,  and  he  saw  a 
little  girl,  and  then  happened  to  spy  the  farmer  coming  round  the  corner 
of  the  house  after  the  pig,  and  he  says  to  the  little  girl,  “What  is  the 
matter  with  that  farmer,”  and  she  says,  “He  is  a scrub  farmer.” 
[Laughter.]  They  were  all  scrubs  on  that  farm.  We  can’t  afford 
in  the  present  day  of  high  priced  feed  to  be  feeding  any  scrubs,  they 
don’t  pay  their  board.  Mr.  Hoblit  tells  me  they  have  been  doing  excel- 
lent work  on  many  of  the  farms  and  orchards  and  in  the  care  of  the 
garden,  and  I am  mighty  glad  to  know  that.  It  seems  to  me  it  has  al- 
ready been  emphasized  that  the  garden  is  one  of  the  biggest  assets  of  the 
State  institution,  and  we  could  by  proper  fertilization  have  the  best 
gardens.  If  some  of  these  things  are  accomplished  we  will  reach  my 
ideal  of  a good  institutional  farm.  I think  the  first  thing  that  should 
be  accomplished  is  the  matter  of  soil  building,  that  we  need  no  more 
land  for  State  institutions  until  we  have  built  up  the  farms  that  we  have 
to  a maximum  state  of  production,  which  we  can.  It  can’t  be  done  in 


19 


a year  or  two  years,  it  may  take  eight  or  ten  years.  These  farms  should 
be  large  enough  to  maintain  our  institutions,  to  supply  them  with  nec- 
essary supplies,  then  if  we  need  more  land,  get  it. 

I fully  realize  some  of  the  red  tape  that  all  of  us  are  up  against 
in  doing  things  that  needs  doing  but  I think  the  State  should  treat 
these  farms  liberally,  furnish  appropriations  for  limestone  and  phos- 
phate. In  building  up  the  farms  the  State  will  get  $4.00  back  for  every 
$1.00  it  puts  in  limestone  and  phosphate,  and  there  are  hundreds  of 
farmers  in  the  State  of  Illinois  that  will  say  the  same  thing,  and  we 
can’t  reach  a maximum  production  without  these  two  matters  and  a 
perfect  rotation  with  either  clover  or  some  other  crop,  and  I think 
with  the  high  standing  of  head  farmers  that  Illinois  has  today,  and  close 
cooperation  with  Mr.  Hoblit  and  the  other  authorities,  Illinois  should 
at  no  distant  date  have  State  farms  that  farmers  can  go  to  with 
pride,  to  farms  that  are  models  for  not  only  the  farms  of  this  State 
but  models  for  other  states,  and  I am  sure  and  feel  that  I am  going 
to  see  the  day  when  Illinois  institutional  farms  will  be  models  in  the 
United  States  because  we  have  got  the  system  and  we  have  got  a 
standard  that  I don’t  believe  has  been  reached  in  other  states  today. 
Gentlemen,  I thank  you.  {Applause) . 

Mr.  Hoblit.  The  meeting  will  stand  adjourned  until  1 :30. 

Mr.  Whipp.  Before  you  adjourn  I am  pleased  to  announce  that 
you  will  have  a rare  opportunity  of  seeing  the  films  of  the  Disciplinary 
Barracks,  Fort  Leavenworth,  Kans.,  ^showing  the  farm  activities  and 
industries.  They  are  worth  seeing. 

1:45.  The  meeting  will  please  come  to  order  again  and  every- 
body be  seated. 

The  first  subject  up  for  discussion  this  afternoon  is  “Stopping, 
Care  and  Prevention  of  Dry  Ditches  and  Gullies.”  This  is  a very 
important  subject  to  three  of  these  institutions  which  are  badly  handi- 
capped by  them.  This  will  be  discussed  by  Captain  Douglas. 

Mr.  Douglas.  Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen.  It  affords  me 
great  pleasure  to  attend  a meeting  of  this  kind  and  character,  but  it  is 
rather  embarrassing  for  me  to  talk  before  you  gentlemen,  as  I am  not 
a speaker.  But  in  my  humble  manner  I will  try  to  inform  you  the  best 
I can  on  the  subject  given  me. 

The  topic  which  Mr.  Hoblit  has  assigned  to  me  is  the  “Stopping, 
Care  and  Prevention  of  Dry  Ditches  and  Gullies”. 

The  kind  of  soil  that  we  have  at  the  Southern  Illinois  Penitentiary 
farm  is  hilly  ground  and  of  the  nature  of  crumbly  clay  loam,  and  is 
of  a very  poor  quality;  subject  to  washing  with  light  rains,  and  in  order 
to  prevent  the  washing  requires  close  attention. 

Experience  has  taught  us  that  one  of  the  main  points  is  in  the 
proper  method  of  plowing  these  hills,  which  we  always  endeavor  to 
plow  crosswise  instead  of  the  usual  method  of  up  and  down  the  hill. 
We  do  this  in  order  to  have  what  we  call  the  “dead  furrow,”  the 
opposite  way  from  which  the  water  flows. 

Another  point  to  avoid  as  much  as  possible  is  the  traveling  or 


20 


hauling  over  the  land  with  a team  or  wagon  while  the  land  ;s  wet  and 
soft.  I also  use  the  same  method  in  seeding  and  cultivating  land  as  I 
do  in  plowing.  That  is  to  have  the  rows  sideways  instead  of  up  and 
down  the  hill. 

Now  the  stopping  of  a ditch  or  hollow  depends  altogether  on  the 
kind  of  ditch  or  hollow,  and  what  kind  of  material  you  have  for  the 
purpose.  At,  the  prison  we  have  a surplus  of  cane  pummies,  corn  stalks, 
brick  bats  and  rock. 

You  take  a ditch  on  a steep  hillside  like  we  have  in  our  vicinity.  I 
find  the  best  method  is  to  build  dams  of  rock  or  brick  bat  across  the 
ditch  about  a hundred  yards  apart  and  keep  the  breaks  clean  of  brush 
and  briers  and  you  will  be  surprised  how  quickly  your  ditch  will  fill 
up  and  you  will  soon  be  plowing  over  ground  that  you  had  thought  you 
would  never  be  able  to  cultivate. 

I use  cane  pummies  and  corn  stalks  for  stopping  them ; we  fill  and 
tramp  them  nearly  full  of  the  pummies  or  corn  stalks,  then  dig  dirt  in 
on  them,  so  as  to  prevent  the  plow  from  dragging  them  out,  then  after 
we  get  the  plowing  done  we  scatter  pummies  or  stalks  over  the  ditches 
again  so  as  to  hold  the  dirt  we  have  put  in  on  them ; then  we  sow  red 
top  or  blue  grass  in  the  ditch  and  after  it  is  well  seeded  we  skip  over 
the  ditch  with  plow  and  while  it  makes  a drain  for  the  land  it  does  not 
wash  the  soil  away,  as  the  grass  catches  and  holds  the  dirt. 

I thank  you  for  your  attention,  and  Mr.  Hoblit  for  awarding  me 
the  pleasure  of  being  here.  I will  close  unless  you  would  care  to  ask 
me  some  questions  on  the  subject,  which  I will  be  pleased  to  answer  to 
the  best  of  my  ability. 

Mr.  Hoblit.  Glad  to  hear  from  Captain  Douglas,  as  this  is  a 
very  important  subject  at  Anna,  Peoria  and  the  Southern  Illinois  Pen- 
itentiary. If  no  one  else  has  anything  else  to  say  on  this  subject  we  will 
proceed  with  the  next  subject,  which  is  “The  Raising  and  Care  of 
Chickens,  Ducks  and  Turkeys.”  This  will  be  discussed  by  Mr. 
McAllister,  one  of  the  most  successful  poultry  men  in  the  State  service. 
I don’t  know  how  much  experience  he  has  had  in  talking  on  the  matter 
but  I do  know  as  a practical  man  he  is  one  of  the  best  poultrymen  that 
1 have  ever  run  across. 

Mr.  McAllister  will  come  forward  now,  I know  we  will  be  glad  to 
hear  what  he  has  to  say  on  this  subject. 

Mr.  McAllister.  This  is  my  first  experience  in  speaking  to  a 
crowd,  and  I thank  Mr.  Hoblit  for  asking  me.  I have  no  subject  to  talk 
on  that  I know  of,  and  as  far  as  chicken  raising  is  concerned  I suppose 
there  are  lots  here  who  know  just  as  much  as  I do,  but  I would  like  to 
say  I would  like  to  hear  from  all  those  that  have  got  good  productive 
chickens  on  their  farms. 

It  is  not  my  intention  nor  desire  to  attack  the  advocates  of  certain 
theories  for  the  sake  of  argument,  but  I am  going  to  give  you  facts  as 
I have  proven  them  and  then  appeal  to  your  judgment  and  ask  you, 
does  it  sound  reasonable? 

I am  going  to  tell  you  the  situation  as  it  actually  exists  in  the 


21 


feed  game  today,  how  the  stockman  and  the  poultryman  is  being  faked 
by  misleading  stories  and  by  mailing  out  pamphlets  saying  that  chickens 
do  better  on  their  feed  and  why  so  many  chicks  die  from  not  using 
the  right  kind  of  feed.  Well,  my  advice  is  to  use  what  you  raise  at 
home  for  all  the  stock. 

In  mating  up  my  pens  to  get  good  strong  chicks  I pick  out  the 
largest  and  best  shape  and  color,  then  first  I look  at  their  eyes  and  see 
if  they  are- bright  and  their  comb,  to  see  if  it  is  nice  and  red,  and  they 
must  be  strong  and  vigorous. 

I put  nine  females  with  one  male  as  near  alike  as  I can  get  them, 
then  I gather  the  eggs,  mark  on  them  the  number  of  pen  and  date,  keep 
them  until  I get  about  two  hundred  and  turn  them  every  morning,  then 
I set  them,  turn  them  twice  daily  until  the  nineteenth  day,  then  leave 
them  closed  up  until  hatched.  After  chicks  hatch  leave  them  in  the  in- 
cubator at  least  three  days,  then  take  them  out  and  feed  them  a little 
ground  wheat  and  corn,  two  parts  wheat  and  one  part  corn,  as  fine  as 
you  can  grind  it.  If  you  feed  them  too  early  it  will  cause  bowel  trouble. 
Up  until  the  chicks  are  two  weeks  old  I feed  them  no  wet  mash,  feed 
them  dry  mash  all  the  time,  then  I get  milk  and  let  it  sour  and  mix  the 
same  feed  with  sour  milk  and  then  feed  them  some  chopped  onions  two 
or  three  times  a week.  I have  a dry  mash  before  them  at  all  times,  two 
parts  oats,  one  part  corn,  one  part  bran,  one  part  beef  scraps,  ground 
up  fine  as  I cafi  get  it.  I run  them  on  warm  sand  when  they  are  put 
in  the  brood  house  at  first.  I can  always  get  them  up  to  three  and  one- 
half  to  four  pounds  in  four  months  on  this  feed  and  they  are  always 
happy  when  feeding  time  comes  round,  and  if  they  did  not  like  it  they 
would  not  act  that  way,  but  be  sure  and  don’t  forget  and  let  them  rest 
three  days  after  hatching  before  feeding  them. 

I was  talking  to  Mr.  Lowe.  I feed  mine  sour  milk  where  he  feeds 
his  sweet  milk,  but  I find  when  you  feed  them  sweet  milk  you  have  to 
feed  them  sweet  milk  all  the  time,  but  if  you  start  on  sour  there  is  no 
danger  of  bowel  trouble  because  the  acid  will  drive  bowel  trouble  away. 
That  is  my  experience,  but  Mr.  Lowe  says  if  he  feeds  his  sour  milk 
he  gets  bowel  trouble.  ( Laughter ) 

The  pens  I have  mated  up  to  get  eggs  for  hatching  are  fed  two 
parts  oats  and  one  part  cracked  corn  put  in  straw  about  three  inches 
deep.  Some  poultrymen  say  ten  inches  deep  but  I do  not  believe  in 
making  them  tire  their  legs  too  much  hunting  for  the  grain.  I have  a 
box  of  mash  before  my  pens  at  all  times  with  two  parts  ground  oats, 
one  part  ground  corn,  two  parts  bran  and  one  part  beef  scraps.  They 
can  get  at  this  all  the  time.  I feed  them  the  cracked  corn  and  whole 
oats  at  night,  a handful  for  each  bird.  I give  my  chickens  warm  water 
in  cold  weather  and  plenty  of  it,  for  the  egg  is  74  per  cent  water  and 
about  10  per  cent  fat,  15  per  cent  protein  and  1 per  cent  ash,  chiefly 
lime,  so  y6u  must  give  them  plenty  of  water  and  oyster  shells  and  grit. 

One  more  thing  I would  like  to  say  is  this.  When  mating  up  a pen 
to  get  good  strong  chicks,  never  force  her  for  eggs.  If  so,  you  make  a 
mistake  as  you  force  all  the  vitality  out  of  her  and  her  chicks  will  not  be 


22 


strong,  and  get  them  out  as  early  as  February  or  March  and  April,  then 
they  will  have  the  best  time  of  the  year  to  start  life.  It  isn’t  hot  and  the 
vitality  of  the  hen  or  pullet  isn’t  run  down  with  laying.  Take  a June 
hatched  chick  and  it  is  not  as  strong  as  an  early  chick  for  the  weather 
is  warm  and  they  are  weak  to  start  with.  Now,  if  there  are  any 
questions  you  gentlemen  would  like  to  ask  I will  be  glad  to  answer 
them  to  the  best  of  my  ability. 

Discussion 

Mr.  Theis.  I would  like  to  ask  if  you  get  new  blood  by  pur- 
chasing male  or  female. 

Mr.  McAllister.  I have  been  there  five  years  and  have  no  new 
blood. 

Mr.  Hoblit.  Tell  these  gentlemen  what  you  mean  by  line  breed- 
ing. 

Mr.  McAllister.  That  is  what  you  call  scientific  in-breeding. 

Mr.  Hoblit.  Where  you  have  eight  or  ten  pens  you  can  line  breed 
and  keep  new  blood  in  your  stock.  Don’t  let  them  run  together. 

Mr.  McAllister.  You  have  to  keep  a record  of  every  year’s 
breeding  and  every  pen,  and  keep  bands  on  or  you  will  have  lots  of 
trouble. 

Mr.  Hoblit.  Mr.  McAllister,  this  year  we  have  started  the 
breeding  of  geese  at  practically  all  institutions.  Last  year  you  raised 
forty-five  or  fifty  geese  from  three  or  four  old  ones.  I would  like  to 
have  you  tell  these  men  just  what  method  you  used  raising  these. 

Mr.  McAllister.  Well,  the  method  I used,  I had  twelve  or  four- 
teen the  year  before  and  I had  them  to  feed  and  didn’t  get  a good  result. 
Last  year  I didn’t  hardly  feed  them  at  all  and  every  egg  was  fertile.  And 
the  year  before  I had  trouble  with  double  yolkes,  that  was  on  account 
of  them  being  too  fat.  This  year  I turned  them  out  and  they  fed  on 
grass,  all  of  them,  and  they  grew  just  the  same  as  when  I fed  them. 
Like  my  chickens,  I feed  them  grain,  but  it  is  better  to  put  geese 
out  on  the  lawn. 

Mr.  Hoblit.  Did  you  try  to  hatch  geese  eggs  in  an  incubator? 

Mr.  McAllister.  I put  forty-two  in  the  incubator  and  never  got 
a goose.  I wrote  and  asked  what  was  the  matter  and  they  wrote  and 
said  where  you  have'  a hen  incubator  it  will  not  hatch  geese  eggs. 
Last  year  I put  mine  under  hens  and  probably  got  four  out  of  five, 
but  lots  of  times  I would  pour  a whole  bucket  of  water  on  the  eggs. 
I have  watched  many  a time  and  the  old  goose  would  get  in  the  pond 
and  get  all  wet  and  then  fly  to  her  nest. 

Mr.  Hoblit.  I have  always  heard  it  was  practically  impossible 
to  hatch  goose  eggs  in  an  incubator  and  thought  we  had  better  tell 
you  fellows  so  you  wouldn’t  try  the  same  thing. 

A Visitor.  Young  fellow,  I think  we  raised  thirty-five  geese  last 
year  and  we  set  the  eggs  under  a hen  and  we  didn’t  put  any  water  on 
them  and  we  didn’t  have  a single  egg  that  was  fertile  that  didn’t  hatch. 

Mr.  McAllister.  Where  did  you  have  them  set? 


23 


Visitor.  On  the  ground. 

Mr.  McAllister.  There  they  have  plenty  of  moisture,  and  they 
must  have  moisture  to  hatch. 

Mr.  Theis.  My  daughter  had  been  complaining  of  wild  lettuce. 
She  said  she  wished  she  could  get  rid  of  that  wild  lettuce  and  I said 
get  a few  goslings.  She  got  three  geese  eggs  and  put  them  under  a hen 
just  the  same  as  chicken  eggs  and  she  raised  three  goslings.  I would 
like  for  you  to  see  that  orchard,  there  is  no  lettuce  to  be  found,  they 
cleaned  it  up  and  didn’t  hurt  the  lawn  either,  but  if  you  get  too  many 
they  will  ruin  it. 

Mr.  Hoblit.  Are  you  familiar  with  the  tests  they  give  hens  to 
find  out  the  ones  that  lay  and  those  that  do  not  ? 

Mr.  McAllister.  Yes  sir. 

Mr.  Hoblit.  Tell  these  men  what  that  test  is. 

Mr.  McAllister.  It  is  called  the  Hogan  test.  These  poultry 
men  talking,  they  understand  that  you  measure  from  the  pelvic  bones 
to  the  rear  end  of  the  breast  bone  of  the  chicken  and  they  claim  that 
if  you  can  get  three  or  four  fingers  between  the  pelvic  bones  it  will 
be  a good  layer.  I have  no  more  to  say  without  there  be  more  ques- 
tions. 

Mr.  Hoblit.  Has  anybody  anything  more  they  would  like  to  ask 
Mr.  McAllister?.  No  questions. 

Mr.  McAllister.  All  right,  I thank  you.  (Applause) . 

Mr.  Hoblit.  We  will  now  adjourn  the  meeting  and  have  the 
moving  pictures  of  the  Disciplinary  Barracks.  Before  we  start  Col. 
Whipp  would  like  to  make  a few  remarks  which  he  overlooked  at  the 
time  of  making  his  address  this  morning. 

Col.  Whipp.  Mr.  Chairman,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  I do  not 
propose  to  make  another  speech  here  today,  but  it  occurred  to  me  at 
noon  time  that  this  morning  I failed  to  call  to  your  attention  the 
record  of  our  great  State  of  Illinois  in  the  matter  of  crop  production. 
Last  night  I read  in  the  Literary  Digest  an  article  stating  that  Illinois 
ranks  first  in  the  whole  United  States  in  crop  production.  (Applause) . 
The  article  reads : 

“According  to  a statement  from  Washington  printed  in  The 
journal  of  Commerce,  high  prices  and  increased  production  combined 
last  year  to  swell  the  total  value  of  our  farm  crops  in  1918  to  a total 
of  half  a billion  dollars  more  than  the  total  of  any  previous  year.  By 
the  Bureau  of  Crop  Estimates  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  the 
value  of  last  year’s  crops  was  placed  at  $14,000,000,000,  which  was 
‘double  the  average  value  for  the  five  years  1912  to  1916’.  Illinois 
ranked  first  in  the  value  of  all  crops,  as  she  did  in  1917.  Iowa,  Texas 
and  Georgia  were  second,  third  and  fourth,  holding  the  same  rank 
they  did  in  1917.  Minnesota  took  fifth  rank,  jumping  from  ninth 
place,  which  she  held  in  1917,  while  Ohio  dropped  back  into  sixth  place 
from  the  fifth  rank.  North  Carolina  moved  up  into  seventh  rank 
from  the  eleventh  place,  and  Indiana  retained  her  eighth  place.” 

The  films  of  the  United  Disciplinary  Barracks  at  Fort  Leav- 


24 


enworth  are  about  to  be  shown.  It  is  just  by  chance  that  we  were  able 
to  get  them.  They  have  not  been  shown  before  in  Illinois.  They 
were  being  shown  to  Governor  Lowden  and  a party  i at  Springfield 
and  I borrowed  them  for  this  occasion.  There  are  some  very  inter- 
esting scenes  in  these  pictures,  showing  farming  activities,  a large 
poultry  ranch  with  10,000  chickens,  and  other  industries.  The  pictures 
are  labeled  and  explain  themselves. 

Mr.  Hoblit.  Before  these  pictures  start  I wish  to  say  I have 
some  milk  sheets  to  keep  the  record  of  individual  cows  on  and  if  you 
want  a supply  come  up  before  you  leave  and  I will  give  you  some  of 
them. 

Pictures  were  shown  at  this  point.  3 :20  P.  M. 

Mr.  Hoblit.  The  meeting  will  now  come  to  order  and  we  will 
go  ahead  and  finish  this  program.  The  next  subject  up  for  discussion 
is,  “Soil  Building  Upon  an  Institutional  Farm”.  I have  asked  Mr. 
George  Halterman  to  talk  on  this  subject. 

A short  talk  was  made  by  Mr.  Halterman. 

Mr.  Hoblit.  Mr.  Halterman,  you  had  considerable  experience 
in  using  phosphate ; please  state  what  your  experience  has  been  in  using 
phosphate  and  limestone. 

Mr.  Halterman.  We  have  been  using  phosphate  for  about  ten 
years.  One  field  we  used  phosphate  on  we  had  twelve  acres.  We 
covered  with  manure  and  put  phosphate  on  the  manure  and  turned 
it  under.  On  twenty-five  acres  we  got  an  average  of  about  65  bushel. 

Mr.  Hoblit.  If  you  had  to  use  manure  or  phosphate  which 
would  you  rather  have  ? 

Mr.  Halterman.  Manure  or  phosphate?  Well,  that  is  pretty 
hard  to  say.  I would  rather  have  both.  Of  course  you  can  take 
phosphate  and  turn  it  under  and  get  along  without  manure. 

Mr.  Hoblit.  The  farm  Mr.  Halterman  is  on  is  considerably 
different  from  the  farms  in  central  and  northern  Illinois.  It  requires 
a whole  lot  more  fertilizer  and  a whole  lot  more  of  everything  to 
build  up  than  the  farms  in  the  central  and  northern  part.  I believe 
that  an  analysis  of  all  the  farms  should  be  made  this  year  and  just 
exactly  what  is  needed  found  out  at  each  place  and  then  we  will  try 
and  get  it.  Does  anyone  else  want  to  ask  any  questions  on  this  subject  ? 
None. 

The  next  subject  up  for  discussion  is,  “A  Model  Dairy  Barn 
and  the  Correct  Type  of  Female  and  Male  Dairy  Cow”.  This  will 
be  discussed  by  Mr.  C.  P.  Dunning  of  the  Soldiers’  and  Sailors’  Home. 

Mr.  Dunning  is  a young  man  in  the  dairy  business  but  he  has 
had  experience  under  some  experts  in  that  line,  having  worked  with 
Mr.  Theis  and  Mr.  Stubblefield.  Mr.  Stubblefield  is  largely  respon- 
sible for  the  fine  dairy  herd  at  the  School  for  the  Deaf,  being  dairyman 
there  for  fourteen  or  fifteen  years.  Mr.  Dunning,  will  you  come 
forward  and  make  a short  talk  on  this  subject. 

Mr.  Dunning.  In  building  a model  dairy  barn  the  first  thing 
to  be  taken  into  consideration  is  the  site.  One  should  select  a place 


JS 

y 


25 


convenient  to  pasture  and  good  water.  A good  general  direction  to 
erect  the  structure  should  be  facing  the  east  and  west.  This  gives  a 
direct  morning  and  afternoon  sunlight.  The  structure  should  be  of 
brick  and  concrete,  one  and  a half  stories  high.  The  dairy  barn  should 
be  constructed  with  a system  of  good  ventilation,  as  each  cow  requires 
60  cubic  feet  of  fresh  air  per  minute,  the  King  system  being  the  most 
efficient.  The  portion  of  the  barn  facing  the  east  and  west  is  112  feet 
by  40  feet,  with  equipment  to  accommodate  forty-eight  to  fifty  cows. 

It  should  be  equipped  with  metal  stanchions,  so  arranged  that  the 
cows  face  the  east  and  west.  The  floor  and  mangers  are  of  concrete. 
Comfortable  and  roomy  stalls  about  five  feet  by  three  feet  ten  inches. 
The  gutters  eigthteen  inches  wide,  three  inches  deep  at  one  end  and  six 
inches  deep  at  outlet,  connected  with  the  sewer,  with  belltrap  fixtures. 
The  barn  should  have  plenty  of  windows,  allowing  about  four  square 
feet  for  each  cow.  It  should  have  a hot  water  and  an  electric  light 
system,  also  arrangements  for  feed  and  manure  carriers. 

A wing  about  120  feet  by  40  feet  is  necessary  to  this  plan.  This 
portion  should  face  the  south,  including  plenty  of  windows  for  sun- 
light and  ventilation.  This  wing  should  have  a driveway  running  east 
and  west  the  full  length,  and  one  running  north  and  south  to  open 
direct  with  the  driveway  of  the  main  hall  of  the  barn. 

About  one-fourth  of  the  wing  should  be  arranged  for  good, 
comfortable  maternity  stalls,  one  box  stall,  one  milk  room.  This  takes 
up  one-half  of  the  wing.  The  other  half  should  consist  of  four  calf 
pens,  one  office  room,  one  large  feed  room,  with  feed  bins,  one  toilet 
and  wash  room,  one  box  stall. 

The  half  Story  of  the  barn  is  utilized  in  the  storage  of  grain  and 
hay.  Two  silos  16  feet  by  36  feet  will  contain  silage  for  fifty  or 
sixty  cows. 

The  points  of  the  female  dairy  animal — their  head  should  be 
decidedly  feminine  in  appearance  and  the  forehead  broad,  the  face 
of  medium  length,  clean  and  trim,  especially  to  high  bridge  of  nose, 
well  developed  nostrils,  neck  should  be  long  and  smooth  jointed  to 
shoulders,  shoulders  should  be  slightly  lower  than  hips.  Ears  should 
be  of  medium  size,  horns  should  be  of  medium  size,  tapering  to  tip. 
The  loins  and  hips  should  be  broad,  nearly  level,  rump  should  be  high 
and  long,  tail  should  be  large  at  base,  tapering  to  switch.  Age  should 
be  considered  in  judging  points.  Hair  beautiful  in  appearance  and 
soft  and  plentiful*  loose  and  of  a rich  brown  or  yellow  color. 

Mr.  Hoblit.  Mr.  Dunning,  has  the  dairy  herd  over  at  the 
Soldiers’  Home  improved  any  in  the  production  of  milk  since  you 
went  over  there  as  dairyman  ? 

Mr.  Dunning.  Well,  when  I took  charge  they  were  producing 
about  eighty-five  to  ninety  gallons  of  milk  a day. 

Mr.  Hoblit.  How  many  cows  ? 

Mr.  Dunning.  . Thirty-seven.  They  were  fed  somewhere  about 
1800  pounds  of  hay  and  thirty-four  produce  118  gallons  of  milk  daily. 


Mr.  Hoblit.  What  do  you  feed  in  the  way  of  ground  feed? 

Mr.  Dunning.  Ground  corn,  ground  oats. 

Mr.  Hoblit.  You  feed  according  to  production? 

Mr.  Dunning.  Yes,  according  to  milk  production.  I feed 
about  four  pounds  of  ground  corn  to  a cow  producing  thirty  or  forty 
pounds  of  milk,  feed  about  two  pounds  of  ground  oats  and  two  pounds 
of  oil  meal  and  six  pounds  of  bran. 

Mr.  Hoblit.  Now  you  say  the  milk  production  ran  up  from 
85  to  118  gallon.  How  about  the  feed  cost? 

Mr.  Dunning.  Well,  I have  reduced  feed  cost  somewhere 
around  $11.00  a day  since  I have  been  there. 

Discussion 

Mr.  Hoblit.  Anybody  like  to  ask  Mr.  Dunning  any  questions? 

Dr.  Kohn.  Did  I understand  you  to  say  you  only  feed  seven 
pounds  of  grain  to  these  cows? 

Mr.  Dunning.  About  four  pounds  ground  corn,  two  pounds 
ground  oats  and  one  pound  oil  meal  and  about  six  pounds  of  bran. 

Dr.  Kohn.  Isn’t  that  a very  small  amount? 

Mr.  Dunning.  Well,  they  have  about  thirty  pounds  ensilage 
and  twelve  or  fifteen  pounds  of  hay. 

Mr.  Hoblit.  Now,  I consider  that  a pretty  good  feed.  Well,  this 
explanation  o’f  Mr.  Dunning  at  Quincy  shows  the  importance  of 
having  dairymen  in  charge  of  herds  at  different  places.  He  has  cut 
down  the  feed  cost  $14.00  per  day  and  increased  the  milk  about  fifty 
per  cent,  which  shows  that  it  certainly  pays  to  have  a good  dairyman 
in  charge  of  herds  at  all  these  institutions. 

Mr.  Halterman.  Does  the  same  apply  to  chickens  ? 

Mr.  Hoblit.  Well,  it  would  if  it  was  extensive  enough  so  a 
regular  poultrymen  could  be  paid.  Unless  you  handle  at  least  2000 
or  1500  chickens  it  would  not  pay  to  put  a regular  poultryman  in 
charge.  If  there  are  no  more  questions  you  wish  to  ask  Mr.  Dunning 
he  can  be  seated.  {Applause). 

Mr.  Theis  is  in  charge  of  the  dairy  herd  at  the  School  for  the 
Deaf  which  we  all  visited  this  morning  and  where  about  thirty-six 
cows  are  producing  about  150  gallons  of  milk  per  day.  I would  like 
for  Mr.  Theis  to  tell  in  a very  short  time  just  what  he  is  feeding  this 
dairy  herd  and  if  he  knows  just  what  it  is  costing  him  per  gallon  to 
produce  the  milk.  Mr.  Theis  can  you  give  us  this  information? 

Mr.  Theis.  Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen:  I don’t  know  if  I 
can  go  into  details  and  give  the  exact  amount  that  it  is  costing  per 
gallon,  but  I do  know  what  my  expenses  per  day  and  profits  above 
feed  costs  were.  I am  feeding  and  have  been  feeding  this  winter,  bran 
about  seven  pounds,  ground  oats  two  pounds  and  oil  meal  one  pound, 
which  means  ten  pounds  of  grain.  The  bran  was  a little  expensive, 
but  still  our  feed  cost  over  our  expenses  has  shown  a profit.  There  was 
approximately  $26.00  profit  above  our  expenses.  Of  course  this  sounds 
big.  We  were  not  getting  this  much  last  fall.  The  cows  started  to 


27 


freshen  the  first  of  August,  but  when  my  cows  are  dry  it  don't  take 
much  to  feed  them.  Last  month  the  feed  cost  $14.42.  Even  at  that 
expense  the  dairy  is  on  a paying  basis  right  now. 

Mr.  Hoblit.  Is  that  $14.00  for  each  cow? 

Mr.  Theis.  For  each  cow.  It  has  cost  me,  being  accurate, 
$8.32  to  feed  the  dry  cows,  because  ensilage  has  gone  up.  Our  dry 
cow  gets  nothing  bpt  thirty-five  pounds  ensilage  and  what  clover  hay 
she  can  consume.  They  consume  in  the  neighborhood  of  fourteen 
pounds  a day,  but  this  clover  hay  is  first-class,  good  hay.  I don’t 
believe  in  feeding  forty  or  fifty  pounds  of  ensilage,  a cow  can’t  get 
as  much  out  of  it. 

Mr.  Hoblit.  Another  thing  about  the  hay  at  the  School  for 
the  Deaf,  which  is  very  important,  is  the  fact  that  it  was  bought  during 
hay  season  when  hay  can  be  bought  cheap.  How  much  a ton  was  it  ? 
Mr.  Theis.  $10.00. 

Mr.  Hoblit.  This  shows  the  saving  an  institution  can  make 
where  they  buy  during  the  hay  season. 

Mr.  Theis.  I will  say  this  much,  gentlemen,  that  I am  going  to 
put  in  my  requisition  for  hay  because  if  you  wait  too  long  we  have 
always  found  that  everybody  disposes  of  the  first  crop  and  then  you 
have  to  pay  a lot  of  money  for  a medium  quality  of  hay. 

Mr.  Hoblit.  The  next  subject  is  a subject  that  everybody  that 
has  an  orchard  should  pay  close  attention  to.  “The  Pruning  and 
Proper  Care  of  an  Orchard”  by  Mr.  Moomaw,  gardener  at  the  Alton 
State  Hospital.  Mr.  Moomaw  will  now  talk. 

Gentlemen : , I was  much  surprised  when  I received  the  pro- 
gramme and  found  that  I was  expected  to  talk  to  you,  who  are  the 
heads  of  the  various  departments  of  the  State  farms. 

I am  sure  if  this  subject  were  handled  properly,  much  would  be 
said  that  would  be  profitable  for  each  of  us  to  hear,  and  each  of  us 
who  have  anything  to  do  with  orchards  on  the  State  farms  could  go 
back  to  work  more  intelligently  for  having  heard  it.  But  I fear  I shall 
be  able  to  bring  you  but  little  because  of  the  little  experience  I have  had. 

No  doubt  pruning  is  seriously  neglected,  not  only  on  the  farms 
owned  by  the  State  but  on  farms  controlled  by  individuals.  This  is 
true  also  of  the  other  factors  that  constitute  the  proper  care  of  an 
orchard.  This  neglect,  I think,  is  generally  due  to  one  of  two  things, 
indolence  or  ignorance.  And  I have  not  been  able  to  find  a single 
reason  for  setting  trees  if  one  intends  to  just  let  the  law  of  the  sur- 
vival of  the  fittest  have  full  sway. 

I have  noticed  that  in  several  of  the  various  fields  of  argiculture 
there  are  four  principle  things  to  be  looked  for. 

1.  To  grow  a crop  of  corn  we  must  have  a good  seed-bed,  good 
seed,  sufficient  fertility,  and  proper  cultivation. 

2.  To  grow  alfalfa  we  need  an  alkaline  reaction,  a properly 
prepared  seed-bed,  pure  seed,,  of  strong  germination,  and  inoculation. 

3.  In  the  production  of  milk  of  “quality”  we  consider  food-value, 
healthfulness,  cleanliness,  and  keeping  qualities. 


28 


4.  And,  gentlemen,  if  an  orchard  is  to  be  profitable  it  must  be 
properly  pruned,  sprayed,  fertilized  and  cultivated. 

I am  not  sure  but  that  we  should  emphasize  the  importance  of 
fertility  and  cultivation,  for  some  people  seem  to  think  an  orchard 
will  be  profitable  on  land  that  is  too  poor  to  produce  healthy  weeds, 
judging  from  the  places  they  have  set  their  trees,  and  as  for  cultivation, 
that  is  for  corn.  But  let  us  notice  briefly  the  four  points  in  the  order 
I have  set  them  down. 

I think  pruning  should  begin  when  the  tree  is  set,  and  intelligently 
kept  up  as  long  as  the  tree  is  bearing  profitably.  And  when  the  tree 
is  no  longer  profitable  it  should  be  cut  down,  that  it  may  not  be  a source 
of  infection  to  other  trees  that  have  escaped  the  causes  of  its  decline. 
In  pruning  we  should  burn  the  limbs  as  soon  as  convenient  and  surely 
we  should  have  them  burned  before  we  spray.  I had  as  soon  have  a 
diseased  limb  on  the  tree  and  have  it  sprayed  as  to  have  it  on  the  ground 
and  not  have  it  sprayed.  The  bark-bettles  prefer  such  wood  in  which 
to  breed,  and  besides  all  this  an  orchard  is  an  eye-sore  in  which  can  be 
found  dead  limbs  and  decaying  brush.  But  an  orchard  properly  kept 
is  surely  a thing  of  beauty  and  is  always  a center  of  interest,  especially 
in  the  fruiting  season.  To  lay  down  any  specific  rules  for  pruning 
would  be  difficult  because  some  prefer  a low  topped  tree  and  some 
do  not.  But  whatever  our  idea  may  be  I think  we  should  have  it 
clearly  fixed  in  our  minds  at  the  time  of  setting  and  stick  to  it.  I 
also  believe  our  severest  cutting  should  be  done  the  first  ten  years. 
All  crossed  limbs  and  dead  wood  should  be  kept  cut  out.  And  do  not 
cut  the  limbs  off  so  there  are  steps  left  for  climbing.  They  are  sure 
to  die  and  decay.  Cut  as  nearly  straight  with  the  limb  that  is  left  as  you 
can  and  not  leave  too  large  a wound.  Any  cut  more  than  an  inch  or  an 
inch  and  a quarter  in  diameter  should  be  painted.  This  will  aid  in 
resisting  attacks  .of  fungi  until  nature  can  heal  the  wound. 

Mr.  Hoblit  wrote  me  he  would  like  for  me  to  come  prepared 
to  give  a short  talk  on  this  subject.  I must  cover  the  ground  as  rapidly 
as  possible.  The  schedule  for  spraying  will  depend  on  the  kind  of 
orchard  you  are  caring  for. 

The  University  recommends  seven  sprays  for  apples,  four  for 
pears,  peaches,  plumbs,  and  cherries,  besides  additional  sprays. 

Do  not  understand  me  to  say  it  is  necessary  to  spray  this  often 
every  year.  The  important  sprays  for  apples  are  the  dormant  spray, 
the  cluster-bud,  the  calyx,  and  the  spray  three  weeks  after  the  fall  of 
the  petals.  This  is  the  schedule  for  pear  spraying  also. 

In  the  dormant  tree  spray  five  and  one-half  gallons  of  commercial 
lime  sulphur  is  used  to  each  fifty  gallons  of  spray.  For  the  other  sprays 
one  and  one-quarter  gallons  of  lime  sulphur  and  two  pounds  of  paste, 
or  one  pound  of  powdered  arsenate  of  lead  should  be  used.  If  an 
orchard  is  known  to  be  infested  with  aphids  or  lice  the  dormant  spray 
may  be  delayed  until  the  leaf-buds  show  tip-green  and  nicotine  sulphate 
may  be  added  at  the  rate  of  one  gallon  to  1000  gallons  of  spray,  one 
twentieth  of  a gallon  to  fifty  gallons  of  spray. 

In  case  of  a second  brood  of  codling  moth  a spray  consisting  of 


two  pounds  of  freshly  slaked  lime  and  two  pounds  of  paste  or  one 
pound  of  powdered  arsenate  of  lead  should  be  applied  ten  weeks  after 
the  fall  o'f  the  petals.  This  may  also  aid  in  the  control  of  curculio, 
sooty  blotch,  fly  speck,  and  leaf  spot. 

The  dormant  spray  for  peaches,  plums  and  cherries  are  the  same 
as  for  apples  and  pears.  The  first  and  second  summer  sprays  of  plums 
and  cherries  correspond  to  the  cluster-bud  and  the  calyx  sprays  of 
apples  and  pears.  One  thing  is  to  be  remembered — commercal  lime- 
sulphur  is  not  used  on  peach  trees  after  the  buds  are  out. 

Fo t further  information  on  spraying  I suggest  that  any  of  you  who 
are  interested  write  the  university  and  ask  for  Circular  No.  212.  Also 
much  may  be  gained  by  a careful  study  of  Farmers’  Bulletin  No.  908. 
This  may  be  had  by  writing  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture  at  Washington, 
D.  C. 

San  Jose  scale  is  perhaps  the  worst  pest  orchardists  have  to  contend 
with.  Farmers’  Bulletin  No.  650  deals  with  its  control. 

Two  More  Things,  Fertility  and  Cultivation 

Land  that  is  too  poor  to  produce  twenty  or  twenty-five  bushels  of 
corn  will  not  produce  a bumper  crop  of  apples.  The  supply  of  organic 
matter  in  soil  may  be  kept  up  by  growing  legumes,  mowing  them  down 
and  plowing  them  under  in  the  fall.  Perhaps  alfalfa  or  -sweet  clover 
would  be  best  for  this  and  of  the  two  I would  prefer  sweet-clover 
(Melilotus  Alba).  This  is  a biennial  and  could  be  cut  so  as  to  keep  it 
from  seeding  and  plowed  under  every  two  years.  If  orchards  were 
plowed  every  other  fall  I am  confident  they  would  not  become  so  badly 
infested  with  insects,  because  it  is  well  known  many  insects  hibernate 
in  the  ground.  Cow-peas  are  recommended  also  by  Pervines. 

Young  orchards  and  orchards  in  which  some  trees  have  died  might 
profitably  be  planted  in  truck  crops,  potatoes  or  sweet-corn,  to  help  pay 
the  expense  of  cultivation,  but  generally  speaking  we  should  consider 
the  orchard  the  main  crop  so  long  as  we  let  it  stand,  and  if  it  will  not 
pay  expenses  cut  it  down  so  the  land  can  be  farmed  as  it  should  be 
farmed.  But  I believe  orchards  will  pay  if  they  are  cared  for  with  the 
same  interest  and  the  same  degree  of  intelligence  we  use  in  the  care  of 
our  corn  crop  or  any  of  our  other  cultivated  crops.  So  do  not  under- 
stand that  I recommend  that  all  our  orchards  should  be  cut  down. 
Rather  I would  suggest  more  planting  and  greater  interest  in  the  wel- 
fare of  the  trees  now  growing. 

Just  a few  more  words  about  cultivation  and  I am  through. 
Orchards  that  are  in  their  prime  should  not  have  any  other  crop  grow- 
ing in  them.  They  require  a great  deal  of  moisture  and  should  be  free 
of  crops  so  that  a disc  can  be  used  to  make  a dust  mulch  that  all  the 
moisture  may  be  conserved.  It  might  be  wise  to  sow  some  cover  crop 
in  the  fall.  If  this  were  worked  into  the  soil  it  would  help  to  keep  up 
the  supply  of  organic  matter. 

There  are  many  more  things  that  could  be  brought  out  but  as  I 
have  used  more  of  your  time  now  than  I should  I will  just  mention 
the  borer  and  I am  through.  Young  orchards  should  be  inspected  very 


30 


closely.  Get  down  close  to  the  ground  and  look  for  a dust  similar  to 
saw  dust.  Or  it  may  be  you  will  have  to  dig  a little  dirt  from  the 
tree.  But  keep  a lookout  for  them.  And  if  you  find  the  dust,  kill 
the  borer  or  the  borer  will  kill  the  tree.  Gentlemen,  for  your  kind 
attention,  I thank  you.  % 

Mr.  Hoblit.  Mr.  Cooper  is  here  from  St.  Charles  and  he  had 
charge  of  the  orchard  there  last  year  and  they  had  a very  successful 
crop,  and  this  orchard  was  badly  infected  with  scale  when  he  took 
charge,  while  now  it  is  practically  free.  I wish  he  would  tell  just  what 
he  did  to  that  orchard  last  year  to  get  the  result  he  did. 

Mr.  Cooper.  I couldn’t  add  a thing  to  what  Mr.  Moomaw  has 
said.  I have  carried  out  very  nearly  what  he  just  said.  I commenced 
the  first  proper  pruning  and  then  spraying  and  kept  it  up,  eight  sprays. 
Everything  else  that  Mr.  Moomaw  told  I carried  out,  in  fact,  I got  my 
information  through  a speech  that  was  made  by  Mr.  Dunlap  at  a meet- 
ing held  in  Cincinnati  and  I tried  to  follow  that  as  near  as  I could.  It 
produced  one  of  the  most  wonderful  crops  in  northern  Illinois  and  the 
farmers,  some  of  them  from  Kane  county,  came  to  see  it  and  wanted 
to  know  how  it  was  done,  and  I tried  to  tell  each  and  everyone  just  what 
method  I had  used.  This  year  I am  working  on  those  trees,  on  the  tops, 
perhaps  more  than  anything  else,  but  they  had  never  been  touched. 
Last  year  I worked  more  on  the  lower  part.  This  year  I am  working 
on  the  tops  and  am  two-thirds  done.  It  looks  better  to  me  with  the 
heavy  trimming  I gave  it.  I don’t  know  if  I can  say  anything  more. 
I was  very  much  interested  in  what  Mr.  Moomaw  had  to  say.  I thank 
you. 

Mr.  Halterman.  I would  like  to  ask  if  you  would  plow  or  disk, 
or  let  the  orchard  grow  up  in  grass  if  you  were  going  to  cultivate? 

Mr.  Cooper.  This  orchard  was  cultivated.  This  year  it  was 
plowed  and  sowed  in  rye  so  the  ground  is  rich,  but  even  at  that  I have 
covered  it  with  manure  this  fall  and  in  time  to  sow  it  in  clover  or 
alfalfa  this  spring. 

Mr.  Hoblit.  Personally  I would  be  in  favor  of  disking,  plowing 
dries  out.  I think  Mr.  Moomaw  has  given  us  a very  excellent  paper 
and  I think  he  understands  his  business.  I am  staisfied  if  he  starts 
at  Alton  and  has  charge  of  that  orchard  he  will  have  some  apple  crop. 
I want  to  have  his  paper  transcribed  and  sent  to  all  as  soon  as  I can. 
Has  anyone  any  more  questions  they  would  like  to  ask  Mr.  Moomaw 
on  this  subject? 

The  next  subject  up  for  discussion  will  be  “My  Experience  with 
Corn  and  Soy  Bean  Silage,”  by  Simon  Burg,  head  farmer  at  Elgin. 

Mr.  Chairman  and  Fellow  Farmers : My  experience  with  corn 
and  soy  bean  silage  has  been  very  limited ; however  our  able  farm 
consultant,  Mr.  Hoblit,  and  from  his  advisements,  we  raised  a crop 
of  soy  beans  for  the  first  time  last  year  and  will  say  we  were  very 
much  pleased  with  the  results ; more  so  than  ever  when  we  found 
that  the  silage  kept  well,  is  readily  eaten  by  stock,  and  animals  fed 
on  it  show  good  gains  in  flesh  and  milk  production. 

Mr.  Hoblit’s  recommendations  were  to  buy  for  seed  the  Perley’s 


/ 


31 


Mongol,  but  as  we  could  not  get  it  we  bought  the  Hollybrook.  This 
is  a medium  late  variety.  We  prepared  our  seed  bed  the  same  as 
for  corn,  by  having  a bean  attachment  to  our  corn  planter.  We 
dropped  form  four  to  six  beans  with  each  hill  of  corn.  A bushel 
will  plant  five  or  six  acres.  We  bought  four  bushel  of  seed  and 
these  were  planted  in  four  different  fields.  All  but  a half  bushel  of 
the  same  were  inoculated  with  bacteria  received  from  the  seed  man 
and  from  the  Agriculture  Department  at  Washington.  From  this 
experiment  we  found  that  the  corn  and  beans  did  equally  as  well 
in  all  our  fields  with  the  exception  of  those  not  inoculated.  Soy 
beans  must  be  inoculated  to  be  profitable.  They  are  valued  because 
the  crop  is  so  rich  in  nitrogen  and  because  the  nitrogen  for  its  growth 
need  not  be  supplied  to  the  soil  in  the  form  of  costly  fertilizer,  but 
is  taken  from  the  air  without  cost.  This  assimilation  of  free  nitrogen 
results  from  the  activities  of.  nodules  on  the  roots  of  the  plants, 
and  only  the  plants  that  have  nodules  can  accomplish  the  result. 
Soy  beans  without  nodules  are  forced  to  take  all  the  nitrogen  for  the 
growth  from  the  combined  nitrogen  in  the  soil,  and  so  they  impov- 
erish rather  than  enrich  it. 

After  our  fields  received  their  first  cultivation  we  went  through 
them  with  the  hoe  and  after  the  soy  beans  got  six  to  eight  inches  high 
I believe  they  had  a great  tendency  to  keep  the  weeds  down,  as 
they  grow  very  rapidly,  from  two  or  three  feet  high.  They  mature 
about  the  same  time  as  the  corn  and  with  the  corn  binder  both  were 
§ cut  in  bundles  and  hauled  to  the  silo.  Started  September  9,  after 

having  some  of  the  fields  cleared  and  had  turned  in  our  sheep,  who 
cleaned  up  all  the  waste  very  rapidly.  Some  of  the  soy  beans  the 
w binder  did  not  pick  up. 

Our  cattle  as  a whole,  looks  much  better  in  flesh  and  also 
produces  more  milk.  We  are  feeding  less  short  feed.  Our  young 
cattle  get  nothing  but  silage  and  straw  for  roughage  and  they  all 
look  remarkably  well. 

History  and  Origin 

During  the  past  few  years  the  Department  of  Agriculture  and 
the  State  Experiment  Station  have  tested  many  varieties  of  soy 
beans  and  pronounced  it  a forage  and  grain  plant  of  great  promise. 
As  an  ensilage  crop,  combined  with  corn,  the  soy  bean  is  brown 
to  a very  considerable  extent  in  the  northern  states.  Having  a high 
protein  value,  the  crop  is  fed  to  good  advantage  with  less  nitrogenous 
crops,  such  as  corn , sorghum  and  millet.  Leading  experiment 
stations  claim  that  soy  bean  hay  is  comparable  to  alfalfa  or  red  clover 
'hay  and  is  much  superior  to  cow  pea  hay.  The  soy  bean  has  about 
the  same  range  of  climatic  adaptation  as  corn  and  can  be  grown 
successfully  on  nearly  all  types  of  soil.  The  cotton  belt  and  the 
northern  part  of  the  corn  belt  are  most  favorably  situated  for  the 
production  of  seed.  The  fields  of  seed  to  the  acre  range  from 
twenty-five  to  forty  bushel.  At  the  present  time  about  twenty  vari- 
f eties  are  handled  commercially  by  growers  and  seed  men.  These 


32 


are  the  early,  medium  late,  and  the  mammoth  late.  The  latter  are 
better  adapted  for  our  southern  states,  while  the  varieties  producing 
medium  size  plants,  which  will  mature  in  ninety  to  one  hundred  days, 
are  suitable  for  planting  where  medium  early  varieties  of  corn  will 
mature.  It  is  desirable  to  plant  the  seeds  only  one  or  two  inches  deep. 
There  should  be  a plant  on  an  average  of  every  two  to  three  inches  in 
the  row  and  the  rows  thirty  to  thirty-six  inches  apart,  to  allow  for 
cultivation. 

For  hay  production  either  a grain  drill  or  corn  planter  may  be 
used.  This  will  require  from  one  to  one  and  one-half  bushefs  of 
beans  per  acre,  as  a catch  or  cover  crop,  to  be  pastured  or  plowed 
under.  They  may  be  sown  after  a summer  harvested  crop  has  been 
removed.  For  hay,  the  beans  should  be  cut  when  the  pods  are  about 
half  grown.  They  contain  as  much  feeding  value  at  this  time  as  it  is 
possible  to  get  without  having  woody  stems.  If  cut  for  seed  the  self 
binder  may  be  used. 

Experiments  have  shown  that  one  bushel  of  soy  bean  meal  is 
equal  to  two  and  one-half  or  three  bushels  of  corn  for  pork  and  beef 
production. 

Previous  to  the  Russian- Japanese  war,  China  and  Japan  were 
not  only  the  greatest  producers,  but  also  the  greatest  consumers  of 
the  soy  bean  and  its  product.  Soy  beans  in  the  United  States  were 
introduced  as  early  as  1804,  but  it  is  only  within  recent  years  that 
it  has  become  a crop  of  much  importance  in  the  United  States,  Until 
the  present  season  it  has  been  grown  primarily  as  a forage  crop. 
The  large  value  of  the  beans  for  both  human  and  animal  food,  and 
the  value  of  the  oil  and  meal,  all  tend  to  make  this  crop  one  of  great 
importance  and  to  assure  it  a greater  agricultural  development  in 
America.  (Applause) . 

Mr.  Hoblit.  Has  anyone  any  questions  to  ask  on  this  subject? 

Mr.  Peterson.  Do  you  think  it  necessary  to  inoculate  to  raise 
soy  beans  ? 

Mr.  Burg.  Well,  I’m  not  positive,  for  we  have  only  raised  them 
one  season. 

Mr.  Hoblit.  It  is  not  necessary  to  inoculate  if  raised  on  the 
same  ground  they  were  raised  on  last  year. 

Mr.  Hoblit.  What  do  you  think  of  the  proposition  that  all  corn 
to  be  raised  this  year  for  silage  should  be  planted  with  soy  beans  ? 

Mr.  Burg.  I think  it  is  a good  proposition. 

Mr.  Hoblit.  Any  other  questions? 

Mr.  Kerr.  What  kind  of  a planter  do  you  use? 

Mr.  Burg.  We  have  what  they  call  the  new  Deere  planter. 

Mr.  Kerr.  Did  you  check  your  corn  or  drill  it? 

Mr.  Burg.  We  checked  it. 

Mr.  Hoblit.  Anybody  else  have  anything  to  say  on  this  subject? 

Mr.  Gertz,  who  was  to  talk  on  “Proper  Pitting  of  Root  Crops”,  is 
not  here ; guess  he  is  sick.  I think  you  understand  that  fairly  well, 
anyway.  Now,  it  is  getting  late,  so  I guess  we  will  let  that  subject  go. 
Anybody  desiring  any  information  on  it,  come  to  me  and  I will  give 
it  to  you.  The  meeting  will  now  stand  adjourned. 


